This Unfair World
by xShadowintheDarkx
Summary: Eli and Umi are hunters, protecting the human population from those of the supernatural ones. Their case appears to be simple, but a complication leaves them torn. Supernatural AU
1. Chapter 1

"Eli, what do you think it is this time?" Eli's partner, Umi, asked from the passenger's seat.

"Based on the coroner reports, nothing was missing from any of the bodies, which rules out a fair amount of monsters." Eli began. Her eyes were glued on the dark road ahead of her. "I would have to go with either ghost or demon. Maybe even a witch." Umi stared at Eli.

"How do we know it's not just some psychopath going on a rampage?"

"No one has been seen on the sites of the deaths. No footprints, weapons, or traces of any other DNA have been found either. Tell me that doesn't seem bizarre to you."

"I guess you're right." Umi glanced at the time on the car's dashboard. It was three in the morning. "I'm going to get some sleep before we get to business later. Are you fine staying up to drive?"

"Yep. Just go to sleep and we should be there by the time you wake up."

* * *

Eli parked her car at the motel's parking lot. She looked at the dashboard, seeing it was now seven in the morning. She looked over at her partner, who was fast asleep against the window. Eli stopped the engine, unbuckled her seat belt, and stepped out of the car. She breathed in the fresh air and stretched, which was much needed after driving for over ten hours. After finishing, she walked to the motel's main office. She pulled the door open, greeted by an empty room that smelled faintly of cigarettes and cleaning solutions. The door rang as she opened it, bringing out a lanky man who appeared to work there.

"How much would it cost to rent a room for two for a week?" Eli called out, seeing the man.

"That'll be ¥16400." Eli pulled a credit card out of her pocket, a fake one just like all the rest she owned. The man took the card from her and swiped it in the machine.

"Thank you and enjoy your stay at Choice Motel, Suzuki-san." He said, handing the credit card back with a pair of room keys. Eli took her credit card and keys back, placing the card back into her pocket. She walked back out of the office, spinning the keys around her finger and grabbing it right as the door shut behind her. She looked back over to the car, seeing that Umi was now up and stretching as well.

"Hey, Umi, catch." Eli threw the room keys at Umi, who was still facing the other way. At the sound of Eli's voice, Umi turned to face Eli, catching the keys in her hands.

"It's so like you to be on your toes this early in the morning, Umi." Eli chuckled. Umi looked at the keys that were now in her hand.

"Room 22?" Umi asked, seeing the tag that was attached to the key.

"Yep. Let's head in so that we can research a bit before we go to the crime scenes."

Umi pulled a messenger bag out from her seat, containing her laptop, case information, and monster guidebook. "Good idea." Umi slung her bag over her shoulder and began to walk in the general direction of the rooms, searching for their room. Eli walked behind Umi, following her into the room once she found it. Eli shut the door behind her, then dropped onto a bed before Umi could take it. Eli let out a sigh as she pulled her pistol out of her holster, hidden under the rim of her pants just above her hips. She set it on the bed next to her and shut her eyes.

"Eli, you should sleep. I'll wake you up in a couple hours." Eli heard Umi say from the bed besides her, along with the tapping of keyboard keys.

"What about the research?" Eli glanced over at Umi.

"It's fine, I can do it myself. It's not that hard. Remember, our job puts our lives in serious danger, so you have to make sure you're getting enough sleep to be in your best state." Umi answered. Eli sighed, knowing she was right.

"Don't be afraid to wake me up if you need me."

"I'm not planning on it." Eli closed her eyes once again. Umi sighed at Eli's antics. Sure, she was a great help, and an even better hunter, but she often puts herself after everything. Umi opened up some of the file cases on her laptop. She looked at the files of some of the victims; how they were found, where they were found, age, gender, and occupation, trying to find a link between the victims. Umi dug in her bag, pulling out a map of the area along with some thumbtacks. She walked around the motel room, looking for a place to put her work.

She came across the closet, the perfect place to put it, being out of plain view upon entrance. Umi began to thumbtack the corners of the map to the wall, stabilizing it in place. She went back over to her bed, grabbing her laptop and bringing it with her back to the closet. In one arm, she held the laptop along with a small container of thumbtacks. She opened up the first victim's profile. Looking at the location of death on the report, she placed a red thumbtack on the same location of the map. She flipped to the next victim, placing another red thumbtack where they died. She repeated the process until all eleven deaths were marked on the map. She came back to her bag, pulling out a black sharpie, then made her way back to the closet. She uncapped the marker with her mouth, her other hand still holding the laptop, and began to draw on the map.

"Hah... That's interesting." Umi said, the pen cap still being held by her teeth. She looked at her handiwork. It seemed as if all the mysterious deaths happened within a certain radius, all quite close to each other. She graphed out what looked to be the middle of the area where all the deaths happened, circling it with the sharpie. She capped the pen and looked at her work again.

"If the deaths really are only happening in a certain radius, whatever is causing this must be located in that area..." Umi thought out loud to herself. She minimized the case files on her laptop and opened up a new tab with a digital map, giving her the chance to look at whatever was in the center.

She eventually found herself looking at the same thing as the charted map in front of her. She looked to see a white icon right where she had circled on her map. Underneath the icon, it read that it was an apartment complex. She clicked the icon, wanting to get more information about the place. Upon further research, the place seemed completely normal, no unfortunate accidents or deaths happening within the vicinity.

Umi looked at the time, an hour has already passed since Eli first went to sleep. She sighed, though she was happy she got a lead on the case. Umi heard footsteps from behind her.

"Up already, Eli?"

"Yea. That's all the rest I need for now. I can catch up on sleep tonight." Eli responded, yawning. "So, how'd the research go?"

"Look for yourself." Umi stepped out of the way to allow Eli to look at her work. "I placed pins where the deaths happened and realized, they all seemed to be very close to each other. Using information based off some of our other cases that were similar to this one, I was able to graph out the radius of the attacks. Since there is a radius, whatever is killing these people should be located at the middle, right here." Umi pointed at the smaller circle. "After even further research, I found that an apartment complex is located right there, though there hasn't been any tragedies that happened there." Eli stared at the map.

"An apartment complex?" Eli furrowed her brows in thought. "If we really are dealing with a ghost, someone could've brought in an item it was linked to. There wouldn't need to be a tragedy."

"That's what I was thinking as well. We need to see the bodies to see what type we're dealing with."

"Alright, we'll shower and then head out. We smell like animals." Eli replied, walking into the bathroom and flicking on the lights. "I'll go first." Umi chuckled at Eli, knowing she was right. "Go get our stuff from the car. The keys are on the drawer by my bed." Eli shut and locked the door behind herself.

She looked around the bathroom. A metal shelf mounted on the wall held white towels of multiple sizes as well as toilet paper. She looked at herself in the mirror. Her long, blonde hair, held up in a ponytail, was messy from sleep. She pulled out her hairband, letting her hair tumble down below her shoulders. She set her hairband down on the sink and started the water before undressing, setting her holster on the counter as well. She stepped into the shower's hot water, letting it run against her back. The heat felt good after all the constant driving and injuries she sustains from the job, though she didn't mind it if she was able to save people. Once her hair was thoroughly wet, she looked for a bottle of the cheap hotel shampoo. She squirted the soap onto her hand and massaged it in her hair.

"We really need to invest in better soap..." Eli grumbled, rinsing the soap out of her hair.

Eli shut off the water once she was done rising her hair and washing her body. She strained her hair, trying to drip as little water as possible before grabbing a towel and drying herself more. She secured the towel around herself before walking to the hair dryer located on the wall. Seeing that her brush was with her stuff that Umi brought in, she had to go out and get it. Eli walked out of the bathroom, only having the towel covering her body.

"Did you get our stuff, Umi?" Eli asked the girl who was sitting off the due of the bed, staring at her computer screen. Umi looked over at Eli, but immediately looked back down, still being flustered by 'shameless' behaviors.

"Y-Yea. The bags are on the floor in between our beds and the suits are on the table by the entrance." Umi quickly replied. Eli began to laugh at her, while going to get some things from her bag.

"We've worked together how long now and you still act like this?" Eli hoisted her bag off the floor and onto her bed.

"We've known each other for basically our whole lives, but started hunting together when I was fourteen... That would be ten years."

"Exactly. We're like sisters now. You don't need to get flustered every time you see my body." Eli replied. Eli was familiar with the concept of family, as she had a little sister before. Umi was the only child, so the closest she ever got to an older sister was Eli. Eli reached into her bag and pulled out her brush, along with a pair of underwear. She also grabbed the suit before heading back into the bathroom. Now having her brush, Eli brushed her hair while using the hair dryer to dry her hair, careful to keep her suit dry. Once her hair was brushed and dry, Eli started to dress herself. After putting on her underwear, she pulled on her white dress shirt to go under her suit. She buttoned the shirt, flipping the collar down temporarily so she could put on the black pants that went with it. Once her pants were fastened, she tucked in her dress shirt and placed her gun holster back where it was previously, hidden under the rim of her pants. Eli flipped her collar back up, only to tie her tie skillfully in place. Once she was done she flipped her collar back down, finishing with a black blazer. She inspected herself in the mirror, straightening anything that seemed off. Once she was satisfied with the way she looked, she tied her hair up in her signature ponytail and left the bathroom.

"Your turn." Eli said to Umi, walking over to her bed to examine her pistol.

"Alright. I'll be quick." Umi closed her laptop and took her clothes from the table, making sure she had everything she needed. Once she did, she disappeared into the bathroom. Eli placed her gun back into its holster and grabbed the FBI badge Umi had tossed onto her bed. She placed it into a pocket hidden on the inside of the blazer. Eli also pulled out a pair of black boots to go with her suit. With their job, boots were much more favorable than heels.

Some time passed as Eli reviewed the case. She reached for the remote, looking to play some television in the background as she worked. She switched through the channels, until a certain one caught her eye.

"...yet again in the Akihabara district." Eli, missing the first half of what the news reporter had to say, read the scrolling banner at the bottom of the screen.

"Breaking news... Another mysterious death in the Akihabara district." Eli read out loud to herself. As if on cue, Umi walked out of the bathroom.

"In an Akihabara hotel, a young man, aged 22, was recently found dead in his room with multiple stab wounds. Police suspect this to be the same killer as before, seeing that any possible evidence has yet to be found." At this, a map of the hotel's location was placed on the to right of the screen. Eli glared at the screen.

"Change of plans, Umi. We're going to that crime scene." Not needing to ask any questions, Umi shut off the television. Eli picked up her keys and strode out the front door, Umi following code behind. She ducked into her car, and as soon as Umi was in with her, she sped off.

* * *

Eli slowed as she reached the location. She parked her car in the hotel's parking lot and stepped out of her car. She slammed the door shut and began to walk towards the crowd of people forming at the hotel's entrance, knowing Umi would be behind her. The crowd was held off at the hotel's entrance by two policemen. Eli pushed through the crowd to face the policemen.

"Agent Hiraki, FBI, and my partner, Agent Yano." Eli introduced, reaching into her blazer's inner pocket to show the officers her badge. Standing besides her, Umi did the same. Once they were sure the policemen had a good look at them, they flipped their badges closed and placed them back in their pockets. "We're here to examine the crime scene."

"O-Of course. Go right ahead, Agent Hiraki, Agent Yano." The man on the left bowed, showing the two respect before stepping aside. "That would be on the third floor." With that, Eli continued forward. She walked into the hotel's lobby, scanning the room for the elevators. Umi elbowed her gently to gain her attention, and walked ahead of Eli to the elevators. Umi pressed the button to call the elevators and waited. Since the hotel's traffic was low, the elevator came quickly, letting out a small ding as the doors opened. Umi walked inside, Eli following behind, and pressed the button with a three on it.

"Do you have your EMF detector?" Eli asked, using the elevator's reflective surface as a mirror to straighten out her suit.

"Do you really need to ask this every time we're on a case?" Umi remarked, raising her eyebrows. "Of course I have it." Eli smiled and rolled her eyes at Umi's reply. When the elevator's bell rang once again, Eli regained her serious composure before the door opened. Eli walked out of the elevator first and made her way to the open hotel door, a police officer standing by the doorway, looking into the room. Eli peered into the room, immediately noticing the red-stained carpet. Eli cleared her throat to gain the attention of at least one of the cops. As planned, the one standing in the doorway turned to see who was there.

"Agent Hiraki, FBI." Eli began once again, pulling out the badge, showing it to him, and then putting it back into her pocket.

"And I'm Agent Yano, her partner." Umi said as she showed her badge as well. "Mind filling us in on the details?" The cop looked at the two women skeptically.

"The victim was a man named Arata Mori. His body was found lying here, multiple stab wounds in the chest. Like the previous cases, the murder weapon hasn't been found. It's as if it just disappears afterwards..." He finally answered. The last phrase caught Umi and Eli's attention. After hearing what the cop had to say, Eli left Umi to question the cops while she investigated the hotel room.

Knowing that Eli wouldn't be able to take out the EMF with the cops around, Umi called them all over for questioning, stepping away from the door. Eli reached into her blazer and pulled out her own EMF detector. She turned it on, the detector immediately going from green to red accompanied by a constant buzzing noise. Eli waved it around the area a bit, the light not faltering once. She slowly began to wander the room, scanning the area to see where the trace begins to fade. The farther she moved away from the blood spot, the weaker the signal got. It didn't seem to spike anywhere but where the blood was.

Eli turned the device off and placed it back where it was before. She walked out of the room, Umi still questioning them so couple feet away from the door. Umi focused on Eli once she spotted her.

"Thank you for your cooperation. We will be on our way now." Umi bowed to the cops, and began to walk with Eli once she was past her.

"What'd you learn from them?" Eli asked as she pushed the elevator button.

"There were no signs of forced entry and no one was seen entering the room but him." Umi started. The elevator opened up, so the two walked inside. "There were no signs of a struggle as well. Everything seemed peaceful until a neighbor heard them scream."

"And it was the neighbor that called in?"

"Yep. They called as soon as they heard their scream. What did you find?"

"This definitely is a ghost. My EMF was going crazy in there." Eli replied. Umi sighed.

"How do the victims connect then? Is there a pattern that the ghost is following?"

"We'll figure that out later. For now, we need to look at the bodies."

* * *

The two walked into the morgue where the bodies have been sent. There wasn't anyone waiting in the room or besides the counter.

"Hello?" Umi called out, suspecting them to be in another room. They waited patiently for someone to come out. Eli tapped her foot on the ground as she peered past the counter. A couple minutes past when, eventually, a girl with long brown hair and glasses came out from another room.

"Sorry for the wait. Need something?" The girl asked, pushing her glasses up slightly. Eli and Umi brought out their badges.

"May we see the body of Arata Mori?"

"Of course! Right this way." The girl opened the door leading behind the counter, letting them walk through. She began to walk back from the way she came from, leading Eli and Umi to where the bodies were kept. The room was a bit cold, probably to keep the bodies fresh for longer. She walked to one of the chambers in the wall, containing the bodies.

"I was just looking at a bit." She opened the chamber and pulled out the shelf carrying the body. She flipped the cloth on top of him off. "It looks like he died from the stab wounds. I haven't found anything else in the short time I've had the body." Eli looked at the man's body. It she didn't know any better, she would've thought it was just another crazed human being doing the killings.

"Do you happen to have the body of Fujiya Namiko and Watanabe Ryo as well?" Umi asked from besides her.

"Fujiya Namiko and Watanabe Ryo..." The girl said out loud, looking for the chambers that held them.

"Ah, these two." She pulled open each one and brought the bodies out. "There you go! Feel free to examine whoever is necessary for your case."

"Thank you... Sora-san." Eli replied, finding the girl's name by looking at the nametag on her chest.

"Just doing my job." She responded bashfully. "I'll be in the other room if you need me." With that, she walked out of the room.

"She was pretty cute for someone who deals with dead bodies on a daily basis, right Umi?" Eli whispered, a smirk on her face. Umi remained silent as she examined the body.

"Hand me those gloves." Umi held her hand out in wait for the items. Eli sighed and grabbed a fresh pair, placing one in Umi's hand.

"Geez, you need to loosen up a bit. Having no fun while on the job isn't good for you." Eli said, watching as Umi touched the body with her gloved hand. Umi narrowed her eyebrows as she studied the stab wounds. Suddenly, she placed her finger into one of the gashes. She pulled her finger out and examined it. The previously clean gloved finger now was black. Eli furrowed her brows at this as well.

"Ectoplasm?" She placed the glove on her hand and walked to the other bodies. Eli followed what Umi did, having the same results with both the bodies of Namiko and Ryo.

"These two have it as well."

"This ghost is dangerous, especially with the rates of the deaths that have been happening." Umi took the glove off her hand and tossed it into the trash. "We need to find who it is, and fast."

"Agreed." Eli put her glove in the trash and pushed the bodies back into the chambers in the wall. "Are we going to that apartment complex?"

"Yea. Come on, Eli." Umi answered. She walked out of the room and past Sora, who was sitting at the desk, Eli following behind.

"Find everything you need?" She asked as she looked away from her screen and up at the two.

"Yes we did, thank you." Umi dipped her head to show her thanks.

"Alright. Good luck with your case." The girl responded. Eli smiled at her as she left the building.

"Thank you for your time, Sora-san."

The two left the morgue and hopped back into their car. Eli started up the car and began to drive towards their next destination.

"When we get to the apartments, we'll split up. It'll be quicker, seeing we don't know how many rooms we'll have to search." Eli told Umi. "You should contact the owner of the place for easier access to rooms."

"I wrote down the phone number earlier. I'll call them right now." She answered. Eli hummed in response. Umi opened the glove compartment in front of her and pulled out a phone, buried in a number of other phones. Umi reached into one of her pockets and pulled out a slip of paper. She typed the numbers into the phone and held it up to her ear.

"Hello? This is Agent Yano, FBI. My partner and I would like for permission to search your Yokosa Apartments located in Akihabara... You would like proof?" Umi sighed. "Of course. Let me give you the number of my director." Umi read off the number, which she had memorized after so many years. Eli smirked when she heard the number. Of course, it wasn't the number of an FBI director, but one of their hunter friends, Maki. Maki was the one their circle of hunters all contacted for reasons like this. She had a sharp personality, which made for amusing phone calls. Umi was put on hold as he called Maki.

"Good luck to him..." Eli chuckled, knowing Maki's way of handling phone calls. After a couple minutes, Umi was put back on the call.

"Oh, we have your full permission to search the apartment complex? Alright, thank you for your time. Goodbye." Umi hung up the phone and placed it back into the glove compartment.

"He's faxing a letter of consent to the current worker at the apartments. This'll make it easier for us."

"Alright. We're almost there. I'll take the first room and every other one from that point on. You'll do that with the second room on." Umi stared out the window of the car.

"Right there. That's the building." Umi pointed out. Eli drove into the parking lot and parked her car. They left their car and walked to the main office. Eli opened the door and walked inside with Umi behind her. Behind a desk, a woman sat, looking at her computer.

"Hello, we're here to search the apartments." Eli stated, showing her badge.

"Yes, I got a message from the boss saying to let you do what you want. Go on ahead." Eli placed her badge back into its pocket.

"Agent Hiraki, go on to the rooms. I'll begin my search here." Umi said to her. Eli nodded and made her way back outside. Eli left Umi in the office and began to walk to the actual apartment rooms. Luckily for them, there was only one main building with three floors. Eli came to the first room of the building and knocked on the door. After a minute an old lady with snow white hair appeared from inside the room.

"Hello, I'm Agent Hiraki, a part of the FBI. I'm currently undergoing an investigation and have been given the owner's permission to search the property, though I will still prefer to have your consent before I conduct the search." Eli stated politely, being kind to her elder.

"Oh, of course you may, young lady. I have nothing to hide. Come on inside!" The old lady smiled at Eli. Eli walked inside the room. All the lights were on, making the environment seem more cheerful.

"Are any of these your personal belongings?" Eli asked, wanting to narrow down the search.

"This apartment happened to already have furniture when I got here. The only things that I brought were my dishes and clothing." She answered.

"Alright. Would you mind sitting outside while I conduct the search? It will only be a couple minutes."

"Sure. Take your time, Sweetie." The old lady walked outside and waited just beyond the doorway. Now with the old lady out of the room, Eli could take out her EMF without any suspicion. She walked out of the view of the doorway and turned on the EMF. She wandered around the apartment, surveying the area with the EMF. There was no response anywhere. Eli walked back out of the apartment, EMF hidden back under her blazer. The old lady was conversing with a neighbor, who was now also out of their room. Umi probably had already began to get to work on that one.

"You may go back into your room now. Thank you for your time." Eli bowed to the old woman and headed to the next room.

An hour of fruitless search passed. Eli was on her last room of the second floor, Umi right behind her. Her hand had begun to get sore from her constant knocking on the doors, but it wasn't anything she couldn't handle. She knocked on the door once again and waited. Eli looked down at the ground, waiting for the door to open. As she did so, the door was quickly pulled open.

"Sorry about that, what'cha need?" A voice called from behind the open door. Eli looked up to see the owner of it.

"You're a sight for sore eyes..." Eli murmured as she looked at the girl. The girl raised an eyebrow at the comment.

"And who might you be?" She asked amusingly. Eli coughed into her closed fist and pulled out her badge.

"Agent Hiraki, FBI. I'm here investigating for a case." She replied, regaining her professionalism. The girl hummed in response.

"Want to come inside then?" Eli nodded.

"I would need to for my investigation." The girl stepped aside, allowing Eli to walk inside. Eli walked past the girl and looked around the apartment. The place was simple, only having the necessities. Eli looked back at the girl, her emerald eyes watching her curiously.

"So, what's your name?" Eli asked, wanting to get to know the beautiful lady better.

"Is that really necessary for your investigation, Miss Gorgeous?" The girl remarked daringly.

"Not really, but I would appreciate a name to link to such a pretty face." Eli flirted, feeling more bold after the girl's previous statement. If Umi saw what she was doing, she would never hear the end of it.

"Tojo Nozomi." The girl replied.

"Tojo Nozomi-san..." Eli repeated. "How long have you lived here?"

"I only moved in about a month ago." She answered simply.

"Would you please step outside so that I can search your room?"

"Sure thing, Agent." Nozomi said as she sauntered out of the room, holding her hands behind her back. She stopped right after the doorway, smiling innocently at Eli. Eli tried her best to ignore the extremely cute girl that continued to stare at her so that she could actually get work done, not that she really wanted to leave. Eli walked past the entry hall and into the living room, out of Nozomi's vision. She took the EMF out of under her blazer and began to scan the room. She slowly wandered the room, making sure to scan everything with the EMF.

"What'cha doing?" Nozomi's voice called out from behind her. Eli quickly flipped the EMF off and placed it under her blazer.

"Just looking around..." Eli stated, trying her best to act casual after almost being caught.

"Hmm, alright. I'll go back outside for ya then." Nozomi walked back out of the room, leaving Eli a bit confused. With Nozomi back out of the room, she took the EMF out once again and continued her work. Again, the room seemed clear of any ghosts. The EMF didn't pick up a trace. Eli sighed as another room came as clean. She placed the EMF back under her blazer and straightened her clothing out. Eli walked back through Nozomi's apartment and out the door, where Nozomi was leaning against the door.

"Find everything okay?" She asked.

"Yep, you're all good. Thank you for your cooperation, Tojo-san." Eli replied. Eli reached into a front pocket and pulled out a small notepad and pen. She quickly wrote something down on the piece of paper, proceeding to rip it out of the notepad once she was done. She folded the paper in half, then took Nozomi's hand and placed the paper in it. "Let's meet again, Tojo-san." Eli said with a wink.

' _XXX-XXX-XXXX_

 _Call me sometime'_


	2. Chapter 2

_**A/N:**_ Highly NSFW chapter ahead.

* * *

The two went back to their motel room, finding nothing at the apartments.

"That must not have been the place then..." Umi muttered to herself, disappointed in her wrong calculations. "It must be a building around that place." Eli tossed her badge onto a table and took off her blazer, wanting to be more comfortable now that she was out of the public eye.

"We must have missed something." Eli said plainly. Her phone, or at least of the ones she used, began to vibrate in her pocket. She looked at the caller ID, but didn't recognize it. She answered the phone, assuming it was the girl from earlier; Nozomi.

"Hello?" Eli said into the phone. Umi looked over at Eli strangely, wondering who she could be calling.

" _Agent Hiraki? It's Nozomi._ " The voice responded from the other side.

"Need something?"

" _I was just wondering if you'd like to eat somewhere with me tonight...but as I'm thinking now, you're probably too busy with your case... Sorry._ "

"Of course I will, I can push some time aside for you. When should I pick you up?"

" _Hmm... Is seven okay with you?_ "

"Perfect. I'm looking forward to seeing you."

" _Me too. See ya!"_ Nozomi replied. Eli could tell through the phone how happy she was and couldn't help but smile herself.

"Bye, Tojo-san." Eli ended the call and turned around to see Umi glaring at her.

"What was that just now?" She asked, annoyance weaved throughout her words. "You better not be going on a date." Eli scoffed, seeing as Umi knew exactly what she was doing.

"Of course not. I'm just going to follow on a potential lead on the case." Eli said to her. Umi sighed deeply, not believing a word Eli said.

"Eli, you already know getting close to others isn't a good idea because of what we do." Umi stated firmly.

"I know, I know. It won't happen, I promise."

"Good. I don't want you to hurt others, or maybe even yourself for that matter..." Eli sighed in response.

"Umi, it's alright. I've done this before and it turned out fine."

"Fine." Umi was still reluctant to believe her. "Just don't cause any added pain to them."

* * *

Eli hopped out of her car and began to walk towards Nozomi's door. She climbed the stairs to the second floor, where Nozomi's room was. She brushed some stray hairs from her ponytail out of her face as she approached her door. Eli knocked lightly on the door and took a step back, waiting for Nozomi to answer. Unlike earlier in the day, the door was opened almost immediately. Eli took in the sight of her. She was wearing a loose light blue dress shirt, all but the top two buttons buttoned, paired with a black skirt. Eli's outfit, simple jeans and a black t-shirt accompanied with a cargo jacket, seemed much more inferior.

"Ready to go?" Eli asked, looking into the girl's gorgeous emerald eyes. Something about them captivated Eli, more than any other has.

"Yup!" Nozomi stepped out of her apartment and locked the door. "There's this yakiniku place that opened up a week ago and I thought it would be a nice place to try today." Nozomi said, walking with Eli down to the parking lot. Eli hummed in response. It would be better than the cheap food she has been eating with Umi for the past couple days. As they came closer to Eli's car, Eli unlocked it and opened the passenger's door for Nozomi to enter.

"Oh, thank you, Hiraki-san." Nozomi said, acknowledging the act. Eli smiled in return before walking to the driver's seat. She slid into the car, put it in reverse, and drove out of the parking lot.

"Here, I have a navigator open so we know where to go." Nozomi held her phone up, angled towards Eli.

"Thanks, Tojo-san."

"Just 'Nozomi' is fine, Hiraki-san" Nozomi replied, smiling at her.

"Alright, Nozomi." Eli liked the way her name sounded coming from her mouth. "Call me 'Shizu' then as well."

"Shizu... That's a pretty name." Eli gave a half-hearted smile at her comment. What was being complimented, wasn't even actually hers.

"Thank you." Eli was silenced by Nozomi's phone navigator's instructions. She followed what the phone had to say, carefully switching lanes to be able to make the turn.

"It looks like we have about five more minutes until we get there, so let's chat a bit. You can ask me something if you'd like." Eli thought a moment at the request.

"Why do you live alone?"

"Oh, you think I would still be living with my parents?" Nozomi feigned insult.

"O-Of course not, I just would've thought you would be living with friends or something." Eli quickly justified, not wanting to upset Nozomi. Nozomi's laughter followed afterwards. Eli felt her face heat up, getting worked up over a tease, which didn't happen often.

"I was sent here by my mom after something happened with my family." Nozomi stated nonchalantly. "It's not that bad though. There's a lot more to do here."

"Oh... Aren't you scared to live alone with all this happening around you?" Eli asked gently. Nozomi let out a dry laughter.

"I'd say that I'm a pretty lucky person, but bad luck seems to like to follow me around. This sounds bad, but I think I've gotten used to it."

"I know how you feel..." Eli murmured.

" _You have reached your destination."_ Nozomi's phone called out before she turned it off.

"Park over that way, the restaurant's right over there." Nozomi pointed out. Eli could see the restaurant, it's bright red name glowing in the night sky. Eli slowly drove to an empty spot and parked her car, managing to get one close to the restaurant. Eli got out of the car and waited for Nozomi, who had also started to get out of the car. She used her hand to signal Nozomi to continue walking so that she could follow behind. By the looks of the parking lot, the place must have been pretty popular. Eli hoped she didn't have to wait long in order to get a seat.

She followed behind Nozomi, her eyes slowly getting adjusted to the nighttime darkness. She focused on Nozomi's head in front of her, her purple hair tied into low twintails. She lowered her gaze as she admired the rest of her, noticing the sway in her walk. Eli smirked a bit at this and picked up her pace. As she walked aside her, she wrapped her arm around her waist, gently dragging her hand across her lower back from one side to the other, dropping her hand once she was a couple steps in front of her. Eli made her way to the restaurant's door and pulled it open for Nozomi.

"T-Thanks." She stuttered in her words. Now lit up with the lights of the restaurant, Eli could see the light blush on Nozomi's face. Sure, Eli has seen, and been with, a lot of cute girls before, but something was different about Nozomi. She wanted to continue to tease her and make her blush. Eli let go of the door and followed behind her. She looked around the restaurant, the tables filled with people. A few families were waiting as well.

"How many?" A waiter called from in front of her.

"Two." Eli replied simply as she continued to look around at the crowded tables. While it was crowded, the meat being grilled smelled delicious. Maybe having to wait would be worth it.

"Great, just this way. A table just opened up for two a few minutes ago." The waiter began to walk off into the main dining area, leaving Eli and Nozomi to follow. Eli began to follow the waiter, looking back at Nozomi to make sure she was as well. Eventually, they came to a table where their waiter was lighting the grill located in the middle of it. The two took their seats on opposite sides of each other, immediately handed the menu.

"Would you like any drinks to start you off?" The waiter asked, getting ready to write in their notepad.

"I'll have an Asahi and a water." Eli answered as she spotted the alcohol in the beverage section.

"I'm fine with just a water." Nozomi answered after Eli.

"Alright, I'll be back in a few with those drinks and then you can order." The waiter replied. He turned back around and disappeared into the kitchen. Eli browsed the menu, looking at all of the choices provided. She glanced up at Nozomi, curious go see what she would be looking at. Eli stifled a laughter. Nozomi was practically glowing with excitement and was quickly flipping through the pages of the menu.

"Eh? What's so funny?" Nozomi asked, completely oblivious to the way she had been acting.

"Oh, it's just that you look so excited right now, almost like a child." Eli answered, chucking softly.

"Why, of course! Yakiniku is my favorite food after all!" Nozomi exclaimed, eyes sparkling with excitement. Eli placed her hand over her mouth to prevent herself from laughing too much. At this time, the waiter walked back over to their table with a tray holding their drinks. Their drinks were placed in front of them.

"Ready to order?" The waiter asked the two. Eli looked at Nozomi, signaling her with her head to place her order first.

"I'll have the beef skirt, short ribs, and beef tongue." Eli stared at Nozomi with slight amusement, after all, that would be a lot of food for one person.

"And you, miss?" The waiter said once they were just about down writing down Nozomi's order.

"I'll have the pork belly and sweet potato."

"Alrighty. I'll take the menus later, just in case you choose to order more later on. I'll be back in a moment with your order." Eli looked back at Nozomi, who was sipping on her water from a straw. Eli suddenly remembered that she had drinks as well. She took her bottle of Asahi and poured it into her glass, tipping the glass to make sure the foam was kept to a minimum. Once it was transferred into the glass, Eli took a gulp of it.

"I've been thinking a bit and now I have a question for you, and I want you to be completely honest." She heard Nozomi say from in front of her. She set down her drink and looked back at Nozomi. Just by looking at her, she could tell something was troubling her.

"I'll answer anything you have for me, Nozomi." For some reason, Eli felt her heart start to beat a bit harder than before.

"What's your name?" Nozomi started. "Your _real_ name." Eli furrowed her brows at Nozomi, not wanting to show her surprise at the question by instead acting as one would in this situation.

"Shizu Hiraki." Eli answered, much as she did with others before.

"I know you're not being honest. I really want to know the name of the gorgeous woman I'm eating my dinner with." Nozomi's gaze never left Eli's eyes. Eli didn't want to upset Nozomi, especially when things were looking good between them so far. It couldn't hurt to just tell Nozomi her real name, could it? Eli took another sip of her Asahi, still debating whether to tell her. The idea of Nozomi hating her came to mind; something her heart lurched at. That's what pushed her over the edge.

"My name is Eli." Eli finally answered after setting down her glass. Nozomi smiled brightly at the response.

"Well, it's nice to meet'cha, Eli!" Eli smiled half-heartedly at her. Because of this, there's bound to be more questions later. She knows how this goes. Eli looked over to the kitchen and noticed their waiter coming out with a tray holding their orders. The waiter made their way over to them and set down the separate plates on the table, along other silverware and dishes.

"There you ladies go. If you want anything else, just flag me down." Eli thanked the waiter and looked back at Nozomi. She already had a plate in her hand, tongs in the other, getting ready to start cooking the meat. Eli watched as Nozomi placed the meat onto the grill, immediately causing a loud sizzling. Instead of just watching her, Eli decided to start cooking her food as well. She placed some of her pork belly and sweet potato onto the grill as well.

"So Eli, I'm assuming you're not really FBI either?" Nozomi said, starting a conversation once again. Eli glanced up at Nozomi, who still was focused on the meat being grilled in front of her. There wasn't any sign of her being bothered by the fact she wasn't actually FBI.

"I am not." Eli confirmed. Again, Nozomi didn't seem phased by the answer. "Do you dislike me now?" Eli asked, a bit worried herself. At this point Nozomi's eyes met Eli's.

"Of course not. I feel nothing but good feelings coming from you. I can tell you're a kind and helpful person, so I completely trust you. You probably have a good reason to be saying these things and you don't need to tell me it. I'll respect that." Eli was surprised from the response. She felt her cheeks heat up, so she looked back down towards the grill and began flipping her food. She hardly ever became flustered, so why now?

Once the food was flipped, she took another couple sips of her Asahi. Eli knew herself to be extremely tolerant to alcohol, but still came to the conclusion she was acting the way she was because of the influence of the drink. She took her grilled pork and sweet potato off the grill and on to a clean plate, replacing their spots with the raw ones. She took her chopsticks to pick up a sweet potato and bite into it. She watched as Nozomi did the same, taking off the cooked meat and replacing them with raw meat. She then excitedly ate the grilled meat, satisfaction shown clearly on her face.

"You really do love yakiniku, don't you?" Eli joked lightly. Nozomi answered by nodding furiously, seeing she had food in her mouth.

"Would'ya like to try some of mine?" Nozomi asked once she had swallowed the food in her mouth.

"Sure. Would you like to have some of mine then as well?" Eli replied.

"Of course!" Nozomi answered back, picking up a piece of meat with her chopsticks. "Now, say ah~" Nozomi held the meat in front of Eli, expecting her to eat from her chopsticks.

"I know how to feed myself..."

"Come on~ I want to feed you." Nozomi pouted. Eli closed her eyes with a sigh and reluctantly ate the beef on Nozomi's chopsticks, a slight blush adorning her face. Eli chewed the beef, eyes still closed, the sizzling of the grill getting louder as Nozomi flipped the food to prevent it from burning.

"Eli-san~" Nozomi called in a sing-song voice, successfully catching Eli's attention. "May I try some of yours now?" With the face Nozomi made afterwards, there was no way Eli could say no. With her chopsticks, Eli took some of her pork belly and lifted it close to Nozomi's mouth, who gladly accepted it.

"Ahhh, grilled meat really is the best."

* * *

Eli and Nozomi had both managed to finish all their ordered food, Eli just barely having enough stomach space. It was a mystery as to how Nozomi ate all of hers.

"That was delicious..." Nozomi sighed happily. Eli hummed in response as she took another sip of her water, long finished with her Asahi.

"When the waiter comes back, do you want to order a dessert?" Eli asked Nozomi. "I'm planning on getting a chocolate ice cream." Chocolate was Eli's guilty pleasure. It was the flavor she always ordered and what she always made Umi buy for her.

"Then I'll keep it simple and go with a vanilla." Nozomi replied.

"Alright. I'll order it and get the check then." Eli looked around the room for their waiter. She spotted him a couple tables down, serving another group of people. Once the waiter turned around, she waved her hand in the air to catch his attention, which was proven to work when he started the walk towards her.

"Would you like to order anything else?" He asked, looking between the two.

"I would like a chocolate ice cream and she would like a vanilla one. Can we get the check as well?"

"Of course. I'll have those out to you in a minute." Once again, the waiter went off.

"Just to let you know, I'm not going to let you pay." Nozomi told Eli. "After all, I was the one who offered to take you out tonight." Eli knew she couldn't just let Nozomi pay for the entirety of the meal either, seeing the money she used wasn't exactly hers.

"Let's spilt the tab then. I would feel bad if you had to pay for everything as well."

"But I-" Nozomi began before Eli cut her off.

"Nope. We're splitting the tab, and you can't stop me." Eli stated, ending the debate.

"Geez, you're stubborn, aren't you?" Nozomi sighed, although there was a small smile on her face.

Within a couple minutes, the waiter came back with their desserts and check. The two enjoyed their ice cream after a very filling meal of yakiniku. Once the waiter returned with their cards and they were finished with their ice creams, the two got back in Eli's car and began to drive back to Nozomi's apartment.

"So Eli, if you're not a FBI agent, what do you do for a living?" Nozomi asked from besides her. Although Eli's eyes were focused on the road in front of her, she knew Nozomi was looking at her. She knew she wasn't obliged to tell Nozomi, as most people didn't need to know what she knew. Telling someone that monsters exist and she was one of the people that hunted them doesn't really work well most often. However, something about Nozomi made her feel like she would be able to tell her.

"This sounds crazy, and it kind of is..." Eli began with a sigh. "but monsters exist. My friend, Umi, and I are some of the people that hunt the ones that go bad." A silence followed afterwards, but it was what was expected after finding out something so drastic.

"Monsters...?" Nozomi spoke quietly.

"Yea. Name any one and I can probably tell you that it exists."

"Isn't it dangerous? You're putting yourself up against things that can kill you within seconds."

"Oh, you're worried about me?" Eli teased, trying to lighten up the mood a bit.

"We-Well, of course! It must be terrifying to live like that." Nozomi responded with a slight stutter in her voice. Eli assumed it was from embarrassment. Eli chuckled at the response before deciding to actually answer the question.

"It is dangerous work, but if we don't do it, who else will? I'm willing to put my life in danger to save the lives of many more." Eli said, now more serious.

"I'm guessing it's not really a paying job either?"

"Of course not. Over half the population isn't even aware that monsters actually exist."

"That's really respectable of you. It must be a hard life having to keep all these secrets and not even being noticed for the things you do..." Nozomi said softly. Eli smiled.

"It's not that bad, after all, I was able to meet you." Eli was surprised when Nozomi began to laugh afterwards. "W-What? Did I say something strange?"

"It's just that... that was a cheesy line." Nozomi got out between laughs. "I'm sorry, Elicchi."

"Elicchi?" Eli asked, confused with the sudden introduction of a nickname.

"Oops. It's something I do with my friends, so I guess I just did it out of instinct."

"It's fine, I like it actually. No one has ever really given me a nickname."

"So I'm the first, huh~" Nozomi said in accomplishment.

"Mhm. I guess you are." Eli replied, focusing as she took a turn towards Nozomi's apartment.

"I have another question for you, Elicchi."

"Ask away." Eli had no problems answering her questions, seeing she probably had a lot for her now.

"If you were at my apartment complex dressed as the FBI, doesn't that mean you're on a case?" As Eli heard the question, she knew there was no way around it, but she didn't want Nozomi to be afraid of living in her own home.

"I am; a ghost case. If you want, I can explain some of the simple things if you feel unsafe."

"That would be nice..."

"Well, first of all, salt circles keeps ghosts out. Salt is a pure substance which repels evil spirits." Eli stated, now turning into the apartment complex's parking lot. "Secondly, when a ghost comes in contact with iron, it dissipates, buying you some time to get away." Eli parked the car and looked over at Nozomi.

"Thanks, Elicchi. I enjoyed tonight, no matter how strange it turned out to be."

"I'll walk you inside?"

"I would appreciate it." Nozomi replied with a smile. Nozomi and Eli both got out of the car and began to walk to Nozomi's room. Outside was dark, only lit up by streetlights and the building's lights, but it was something Eli got used to after having to deal with 'creatures of the night' for so long. Eli followed Nozomi up the stairs to the second floor, where her room was. The lights above each room made it possible for them to see the room numbers and find the proper room. Soon enough, Nozomi found hers and unlocked the door with the keys taken from her purse. Nozomi walked inside her apartment, turning around the face Eli.

"Tonight was really nice..." Nozomi said, her emerald eyes now focused on Eli's sapphire ones. There was a tinge of something very familiar in Nozomi's eyes. Eli has seen in it plenty of girl's eyes before, but seeing it in her eyes was much more rushing.

"It was..." Eli replied back. A silence followed between the two as they maintained their eye contact. Almost like a flip was suddenly switched, Eli pushed her way into Nozomi's apartment, pressing her lips against Nozomi's. Nozomi, not phased at all by the sudden action, kissed Eli back, just as forcefully as Eli did to start. Eli kicked the door closed behind her, her hands busy trailing up and down Nozomi's body. Nozomi quickly flicked the light switch on to be able to navigate safely though the hallway before attempting to remove Eli's jacket. Eli assisted Nozomi and discarded the jacket somewhere behind her. The two slowly made their way towards the bedroom, the intensity of the kiss only getting larger with each step.

Eli only broke the kiss to take off her own shirt, not giving a care where it landed. Nozomi took Eli's hand and pulled her into her room, turning on the lights as she did so. Nozomi turned around to face Eli, only to be pushed down into her bed. Eli climbed onto the bed and straddled Nozomi's hips. She planted kissed all over Nozomi's neck, Nozomi tilting her head to make the area more accessible. Eli's hands moved down the the buttons of Nozomi's shirt, wanting to remove the pieces of clothing that were getting in the way. As Eli's hands worked on unbuttoning Nozomi's shirt, she continued to suck and nip on Nozomi's neck.

With each little nip on her neck, Nozomi let out soft moans; moans that sent heat straight through to Eli's core. Eli brought her lips back up to Nozomi's, engaging in yet another kiss before she pulled open Nozomi's shirt.

"I'm going to need you to sit up for a moment so I can take that shirt off of you..." Eli whispered sensually into Nozomi's ear, followed by a gentle bite on her earlobe. The stimulation caused Nozomi to let out a loud moan. Without another word, Nozomi wrapped her arms around Eli's neck to help bring her up. Eli sat back up, bringing Nozomi up with her. She did what she planned to do and slid Nozomi's shirt off and out of the way. Eli laid Nozomi back down on the bed, and began to admire her piece of art. Nozomi's face was painted pink and her eyes were darkened with lust.

"Are you just gonna stare or will you actually do something?" Nozomi joked, her voice noticeably deeper, huskier, than it was a few moments ago.

"You just look so beautiful like this and it's something I want remember." Eli answered back. She lowered her lips back down, sucking Nozomi's skin right above her chest. "But I would like to see even more of you."

Eli ran her hands up Nozomi's side, feeling her soft and supple skin before finding the clip to her bra on her back. Skillfully, Eli unhooked the piece of clothing and tossed it off the bed, out of sight. From when she first laid eyes on Nozomi, she knew her body would be stunning, but her imagination couldn't match with the real thing. Eli continued to show her affections to Nozomi's neck as she brought her hands up to Nozomi's breasts. She cupped the bottoms of her ample mounds, circling up before dragging her hands down the front, massaging her breasts. Nozomi's moans, progressively getting louder as time passed, brought a whole new level of arousal to Eli that she couldn't explain.

Eli's kisses trailed down to Nozomi's breasts. She planted a few kisses around her nipple before actually taking it in her mouth. She sucked on it roughly, earning a loud moan from Nozomi, before flicking it with her tongue. One of Eli's hands was still working on the opposite breast while the other was exploring her voluptuous thighs. She felt as Nozomi reached behind her and undid her bra, allowing her to take it off of her.

"Elicchi." She heard Nozomi call out as steady as she possibly could. Eli stopped what she was doing to see what Nozomi wanted, only to be thrown onto her back onto the bed, their positions now switching.

"I just can't let you be dominant the whole time, now can I?" She said slyly. Nozomi started doing what Eli left off at, making sure to return the favor. Nozomi immediately focused her attention to Eli's nipple, the sudden wave of pleasure causing Eli to let out a loud moan in response. Nozomi's hands were gliding across the length of her abs, formed from daily training for monster hunting.

Eli wasn't satisfied with just being submissive, so her hands began to explore Nozomi's lower half, having paid excessive attention upper half already. Eli slid her hands under Nozomi's skirt squeezing her ass and earning a soft gasp. She felt as Nozomi began to fumble with her pant's button, glad to take the clothing off as the heat between the two rose. Nozomi lifted herself off of Eli and pulled off her jeans and underwear, taking note of the damp spot that could clearly be seen. Nozomi herself knew that she probably wasn't any different. Nozomi laid herself back down on Eli, kissing her as her fingers slowly began to explore her folds.

"Nozomi...!" Eli moaned at the contact with her vulva, burning for the desire of release.

"Ya'know, you're probably one of the most beautiful women I've ever seen in my life. I can't believe that you're in my bed, moaning my name." Nozomi whispered as she peppered kisses around Eli's jawline.

"I...could say...the same to... you." Eli got out between moans, Nozomi's fingers working magic on her senses. Nozomi's fingers became coated in Eli's juices as she ran then through her folds, often teasing her entrance. Fingers now lubricated, Nozomi slid two of her fingers into Eli. Eli let out a throaty moan at the much desired entrance. She slowly started to pump her fingers in and out of Eli, though she quickly picked up her pace. With one hand, Eli grasped Nozomi's bedsheet, while the other rested in her hair. Nozomi took note of how Eli's moans were increasing in pitch, signaling the soon approaching orgasm. She curled her fingers, continuing to pump them at a quick, steady pace.

"N-Nozomi!" Eli's grip on the bedsheets tightened as the orgasm struck her. Nozomi slowed down her pace, riding it out. Eli breathed heavily as she calmed from her orgasm.

It didn't take long for Eli to recover, and once she did, she began to work on Nozomi. To match her own nudity, Eli tugged off Nozomi's skirt and panties.

"Doing me must've really got you going." Eli said in a sultry voice, feeling Nozomi's wetness against her fingers. Nozomi let out a throaty moan at the much awaited contact. Without any warning, Eli inserted two fingers into Nozomi's core, sliding in without resistance. Nozomi gasped at the sudden entrance, though it quickly turned to moans as Eli began to fuck her.

"Elicchi...! Shit...!" Nozomi moaned, gripping on the bed frame behind her. Profanity wasn't something she used often, but with the intensity of pleasure she was feeling right now, of course it would slip out.

To add to the current sensation, Eli lowered her mouth onto her clit. She flicked nub with her tongue, causing Nozomi's body to jolt with pleasure. Eli knew Nozomi was close by the way he body reacted to every little touch. She felt Nozomi place her hand in her own golden tresses, weakly holding her in place. To finish her off, Eli quickened her pace and gave her clit a strong lick.

Nozomi's shout of pleasure filled her apartment as she climaxed. Her body twitched as the waves struck her. Eli pulled out her fingers, licking them clean before examining the mess she made. Nozomi's eyes were half-lidded, her breathing was ragged, and her body was glistening with sweat. Her previously nicely kept hair was now messy, several strands escaping her twintails. Eli captured Nozomi's lips one last time before lying herself besides her.

"Wow..." Nozomi managed to get out.

"Hmm, do you think your neighbors heard that?" Eli asked. She glanced over at Nozomi, who's face was now a bright red. "I'll take that as a yes."

"Geez, it's all because of you." Nozomi pouted, her face still highly pigmented. Eli laughed at the childish look on her face.

"Want to clean ourselves up a bit before going to sleep?" Eli asked, still chuckling.

"That would be nice... You can head in first and I'll change the bedding. I'll bring you a towel and something to wear. Bathroom's right across from here. Feel free to use whatever I have."

"Thank you, Nozomi." Eli sat back up and walked towards the bathroom. She walked out of the room into the hallway, a shiver passing through her body as the cool air of the hallway hit her nude body. She made her way into the bathroom, turning on the lights and the shower.

Eli took out her hair band and stepped inside the shower once the water was the perfect temperature. She let the water run through her golden hair before using a small amount of Nozomi's shampoo.

As she began to wash her hair, she hear the faint sound of Nozomi's footsteps outside the shower. She ignored her, assuming she was just setting down the clothes and towel. Eli pushed her bangs back and out of her face, letting the warm water run against her head. She heard the footsteps again along with a knock on the bathroom door.

"Okay, Elicchi, I'm setting the towel and some clothes on the counter here for when you're done."

Eli furrowed her brows. What was Nozomi doing in there previously then?

"Alright, thanks Nozomi." Eli answered, deciding to just let it slide for now. She quickly poured some body wash onto her hand and lathered it into her body. Once she was free of any soap, she turned the water off and dried herself off. She looked at the clothes Nozomi provided for her, letting out a light chuckle as she realized it was only an oversized t-shirt. She threw it over her head, not bothering with putting any underwear on. She placed the towel onto her head to capture any water droplets that might fall.

"Alright, I'm done." Eli said as she walked into Nozomi's bedroom, where Nozomi was still putting the finishing touches on the bed.

"Oh, you look good in that." Nozomi commented, taking note of her long legs, exposed up to mid-thigh due to the choice of clothing.

"You look good in that as well." Eli replied, fully aware of her complete nudity.

"Yea, yea, Elicchi. I'm gonna shower now." Nozomi chuckled, patting her on the shoulder as she made her way into the shower. Eli looked back at her, watching as she sauntered into the bathroom, closing the door behind her.

Eli put some effort in drying her hair as she waited for Nozomi. Once she was sure there was not much else she could do to dry her hair, she followed the trail of clothes back to the entrance until she spotted her jacket. She flipped it over her arm and began to dig in the pockets, in search for her phone. Her phone was only a simple slide phone, seeing she had multiple others for other contacts. Plus, in her line of work, she needs a sturdy phone that doesn't crack and break whenever it hits the floor.

She opened up her conversation with Umi, texting to let her know that she wasn't coming home tonight. Of course, Umi probably assumed that, knowing her antics, but she still wanted to confirm it for her. Once she sent the message, she closed her phone, bringing it and her clothes back to Nozomi's room.

Seeing she really had nothing to do until Nozomi got out of the shower, she folded her clothes and set them neatly in a pile besides the bed. Eli looked around Nozomi's room, now focusing much more on the details. She was in the room before when she was scanning it with her EMF, but she didn't pay that much attention to the details.

She walked up to her desk to look at the photos that were framed there. There were few of them with one looking to be the center. It was a picture of a younger Nozomi with a man and a woman, presumably her parents. They all looked so happy in the photo, something that made Eli feel a twinge of pain in her own heart.

"Sorry to leave you here all alone, Elicchi." Nozomi's voice came calling out. Eli turned her gaze from the photo to Nozomi, pushing that feeling away quickly. Now out of the shower, she was clean and fully clothed, much to Eli's disappointment.

Nozomi walked over to her bed and crawled into her spot. Eli watched as she patted the bed besides her, signalling for her to lay down there. The corners of Eli's mouth turned to form a small smile as she made her way into the bed besides her. Eli laid on her side to face Nozomi, propping herself up on her arm. She gazed fondly at Nozomi's eyes, mesmerized by their beauty.

"Ya'know, with that soft look in your eyes, I start to wonder how you were dragged into monster hunting. It makes me wonder how someone as kind as you can be brought to do something so harsh." Nozomi said, noticing the way she was staring at her. Eli felt her heart drop.

"I-It's really not necessary to tell me though. I'm sorry for saying that." Nozomi quickly added, obviously noticing the change in Eli's face.

"I-It's alright," Eli replied, her emotions causing her stumble on her words a bit. "It happened so long ago, so I really should just get over it." She turned to lay on her back, staring at the roof above her.

"I was only fifteen at the time. I was coming back from a store after being out for only about twenty minutes. I knew something was off when my house door was open just enough to be pushed open. I looked around and saw the worst sight of my life. That _thing_ was eating my family...at that time my little sister." Eli let out a shaky sigh as she tried to calm her nerves. She could feel her eyes begin to water, but she did her best to keep any tears from falling.

"To make the matters even worse, it took the shape of my mother as it did so. I saw my mother's face when it was eating my sister... I saw my mother's face when it spotted me and charged. I was too shocked to move and I thought I was done for... It was Umi's dad who saved me and explained what had just happened, what I saw. They took me in and from then on, I wanted to make sure no one had to go through what I went through." Eli brought her hand up to her face to wipe it, trying to make the tears go away.

"Sorry, you probably didn't want to hear all of that." Eli sighed. Eli tensed when she felt Nozomi's arm wrap around her, though she relaxed once she realized what was happening. Eli's heart felt like it was pounding against her chest.

"That's terrible... It must've been really hard for you... There's probably not much I could say to make anything better, but I will stay like this for as long as you need."

Eli felt her resolve start to break. The dam holding back her tears seemed to shatter as they began to flood out of her eyes. Eli tried to turn away from Nozomi, not wanting her to see her in such a pathetic state, but instead was pulled closer to her, her face resting in the crook of Nozomi's neck.

"It's alright, Elicchi. Let it all out. It'll be alright..." Nozomi murmured to her. She caressed the back of her head, planting a gentle kiss on the top of her head.

"This must be great. You've only known me for a night but here I am, crying into you." Eli chuckled in disbelief, tears still streaming down her face.

"There's nothing wrong with it, especially after what you've been through. This doesn't change the way I feel about you at all."

"Nozomi... Thank you."

After a couple minutes, Nozomi knew Eli was asleep because her sniffles died down into soft sighs. The girl who earlier appeared to be confident and flirty had a side she never really expected to see, though she was glad she was able to see it. Eli was still cuddled up against Nozomi, not that she minded, but the lights of the room were still on. Not wanting to stir Eli from her sleep, Nozomi decided against turning off the lights, falling asleep alongside Eli.


	3. Chapter 3

Eli woke up, still enveloped in Nozomi's warmth. The lights in the room were off, causing it to be dark due to the lack of light outside. Careful to not wake Nozomi up, Eli snaked out of her arms, sitting on the edge of her bed to look at her phone. The brightness of the screen after just waking stung her eyes, even more than it already did from her crying the previous night.

According to the time on her phone, it was only a little after 5 am. Eli shut off her phone and looked back at Nozomi, who was still fast asleep. She could just barely see Nozomi's face in the dark room. Her expression was so gentle and peaceful, Eli could just barely resist the urge to caress her cheek. Instead, she found her hair band to put her hair up and picked up her clothes off the ground to change into them.

As Eli straightened her jacket, she could hear Nozomi begin to stir behind her. She quickly stopped what she was doing to look back at her to make sure she was still asleep. Luckily, she had only slightly adjusted her position, still asleep. Now fully clothed once again, in her own clothes, Eli quietly walked over over to the bathroom. She shut the door behind her to block out the light and sounds of the room.

Eli looked at herself in the mirror. Her eyes were slightly red and puffy from the tears and her hair was a bit messy, as expected of putting up her hair without brushing it. She leaned down to the sink to splash some cool water on her face to help soothe her eyes. After a couple splashes, she shut off the water and looked back at her face in the mirror. She looked like a mess, but honestly, she didn't really care. Eli used a hand towel to dry her face before shutting off the lights and walking back into the dark hallway.

She peeked back into Nozomi's room to see her one last time before she headed off. In the short time she was in the bathroom, the world outside had already began to brighten. Eli smiled at Nozomi, who was still sleeping soundly on her bed, unaware of the fact she wasn't there besides her anymore. With that, Eli turned for the entrance and headed out.

It had gotten significantly brighter outside, though it was still early morning. The air was crisp and the birds were already singing their morning songs. She hurried back to her car, not wanting to be there when Nozomi woke up.

* * *

Eli quietly opened the door to her motel room, not wanting to wake Umi up. She was a demon when she's awoken, Eli having first-hand experiences with how demons behaved from previous hunts. Thinking about it, she could even be worse than a demon.

She slowly shut the door, not wanting it to slam and wake up Umi. Once she had closed the door, silent for the most part besides the clicking of the lock, she quietly began to walk to her bed. As she began to approach it, Umi shot up from her bed, gun aimed at her. As soon as her mind processed who she was looking at, she sighed and set the gun back under the pillow, where she pulled it out from.

"Jesus, Eli. Why are you back so early? I could have shot you right there." Umi groaned, wiping a hand down her face. Umi stopped and squinted at Eli, her eyes still tired from sleep. "Wait, have you been crying? What happened?"

Eli sighed. Umi had always been extremely observant, being able to notice every little detail around her. Of course she would notice that.

"It's nothing to worry about, Umi."

"Eli-" Umi tried to push forward, but was cut off by Eli.

"Really, it's nothing. Don't worry about me, especially when we're on a case where people seem to be dying daily."

"Eli, you're my best friend, and one of the few friends I'm able to have and keep in this life. I _will_ worry about you because you're important to me." Umi's serious gaze showed Eli that there was no way to stop her.

"Honestly, I just let my emotions get to me, Umi. I'm alright now, so you don't need to worry." Eli finished with a small smile. She knew Umi understood when her gaze softened.

"Alright... Anyways, I didn't find much last night about the case. I think we should give another check at the apartments. We must've missed something there. All of our evidence leads to that place." Umi replied, bringing up the case to avoid talking about the touchy subject.

"Do you think that a resident brought it in?" Eli asked, sitting down on the bed across from her.

"I would say that there's a huge possibility that someone did. I already have a list of the residents so all I need is to search them up on the database to see if they had a recent family death that could have caused a ghost to link onto an item."

"Alright, that sounds good. It'll make this search much more efficient for the most part. If we finish empty-handed, we'll just have to search everyone else again..."

"Correct. I'll get to that right now so we can begin as soon as possible." Umi said, grabbing her laptop from the bedside drawer in-between their beds. Eli kicked back in her bed and took the remote from the drawer. She turned on the television and began to browse through the channels. Nothing really interested her, seeing the vast majority of them were cartoons and boring dramas.

She continued to click through the channels, quickly passing the news channel. A couple channels past, Eli stopped, coming to a realization, and flipped back to the news.

Eli swore under her breath as she watched the broadcast, that had now gained the attention of Umi.

"Another one already...?" Eli muttered. She sat up, poised for action, diligently watching the news. Another person, this time a man, was murdered while closing up shop for the night. Soon after, the reporter disclosed name of the shop where the body had been found..

"Umi, find the location of that place so we can put it down on our map." Eli ordered, getting off her bed.

"Already on it." Umi answered back. Eli found her suit from the previous day, getting ready to change into it. Umi stood up a few moments later, making her way to the closet where their map was hidden.

"Huh, that's odd... This one is located outside of the original radius that we have... Could I have been wrong?" Eli moved over besides Umi to look at the map.

"Since we're assuming it's linked onto an item, someone could've just worn a piece of jewelry of something that it was linked to which could be carried it out of the apartments. Since this is the only strong lead we have, we should follow up on it with that idea in mind. The deaths because of this ghost are racking up, so we should follow this with a chance of succeeding instead of being left with nothing." Eli looked over at Umi, who was clearly troubled by this. Eli could see her gears turning just by looking at her facial expression.

"That does make sure lot of sense." Umi finally said. "This would mean the carrier of the item would've been out last night." Eli froze in her spot. She took Nozomi out the previous night. She looked on the map, following the roads she took to yakiniku restaurant. The murder wasn't far from there.

"W-Well, that is if the murder is even linked to our case. I'll have to go check out the scene and body to make sure." Eli said, stumbling a bit on her words as she thought of the chance of Nozomi harboring a dangerous ghost in her apartment.

"And the chances of it not being our case when, yet again, no one was spotted on the crime scene?" Umi replied sarcastically. Eli took slight offense to the comment, even though it was a ridiculous thought. She turned away from Umi and walked into the bathroom.

"I'll get ready and head out then." Eli closed the bathroom door behind her. She placed her hands firmly on the sink and stared into the mirror.

"Where the hell did that come from?" Eli muttered to herself, ashamed of what she had said. She splashed some cold water on her face to help wake her up further, though she was already wide awake. Eli changed into her suit, chalking her stupid remark up to her not thinking properly because of the early morning.

She left the bathroom to grab her gun and holster, almost always going out with it by her side. Of course with situations like the previous night, Eli knew to keep it elsewhere. She clipped the holster around her waist and checked the clip of ammo to make sure it was loaded, putting it in the holster afterwards.

Umi had already begun her search, so Eli left the motel room and into her car to head to the crime scene.

* * *

Eli slammed the door to her car shut. She walked to the door of the small shop, having to duck underneath the police tape preventing entry. If it wasn't for the large pool of drying blood on the ground, Eli wouldn't have suspected anything went wrong in the shop. The shelves were neatly organized and everything was clean. No sign of any struggle could be seen anywhere. Eli turned her attention to the three police officers that were scattered around the shop. She recognized one from the other day from the hotel.

"Hello. Care to fill me in on the details?" Eli asked, approaching the familiar police officer. At the sound of her voice, he turned to face her.

"Oh, Agent Hiraki, right?" The man asked, obviously remembering her as well. Eli responded with a nod of her head. "Let's get straight into this then. The murder happened sometime last night. The victim, Tachibana Hikaru, was supposed to be the last one to leave, having the duty to close up shop. The murderer entered soon after his co-workers left and did what he came to do. The victim was stabbed multiple times in the chest, just as the others were. We already held brief interrogations with the co-workers, but they honestly had no clue what had happened until we told them."

"Are there security cameras here?"

"Ah, yes. The footage is a bit strange, but I'll show you what was caught. Follow me." He replied. Eli followed him to the managers office, where the footage held. He went onto the computer and began to skip through the video.

"Alright, this is about right." The officer said as he stepped away from the computer. Eli took his spot, leaning on the desk to get a better view. She watched as two of the employees waved to another, presumably the victim, disappearing off the camera and out the door. The man was acting perfectly calm, not at all expecting his ill fate. The man was walking towards the exit when the cameras suddenly cut to static.

"Right there. The cameras just stop recording right in time for the murder to happen. I'm guessing the murderer had some type of hacking system, but then it brings up more questions. Why would they put that much effort into this one guy? Did the victim get himself involved with the wrong crowd?"

Eli ignored the man talking behind her and replayed the scene over and over, trying to find anything useful. She paused the video, catching a glimpse of something strange. Right before the cameras cut out, right behind the man was a faint, shadowed figure. If she hadn't been in the business of monster hunting, she wouldn't have even noticed it.

"Did you find something?" The officer asked curiously behind her.

"I'm not sure. I'm going to print out a picture of this frame to have it further looked upon." Eli responded. She began to print out the image, focusing mainly on the shadow figure and the man. Once the paper was out of the printer, she folded it up into a small square and put it in an inner pocket on her suit.

"Now if you would excuse me, I'm going to take a quick look around." Eli said to the officer. She left the managers office and proceeded to the main room where the death happened. She made her way past the police to the drying blood pool on the ground. She squatted down to get a closer look at the bloody area to see of she could find anything else, such as some ectoplasm. Unsurprisingly, nothing was there but blood. Eli stood back up and looked around the room once again. Since there were quite a few cops looking at the scene, she couldn't exactly pull out her EMF to look for more clues.

Eli decided her work there was done. Since this was a ghost they were dealing with, no actual clues would be hidden to find. Without anymore words to the police, Eli left the building and got into her car. She started the engine and drove towards the morgue.

The drive seemed shorter than it was due to the fact Eli couldn't stop thinking about the case. Nozomi could be living with a dangerous ghost right under her nose. Her life was in danger, especially with the rate of which the ghost has been attacking. These thoughts made her even more determined to find and get rid of it.

Once again, she got out of her car and entered the morgue. This time, an assistant was sitting at the desk, Sora most likely in the back with the body.

"Hello, I came to see the body of Tachibana Hikaru." Eli said to the assistant. He just stared at her, clearly not amused. Realizing she had never met this person before, she pulled out her badge to show she was a part of the FBI. Of course she wasn't actually FBI, but to him and almost everyone else, she was.

With a sigh, the man allowed Eli entrance to the back room. Although she remembered where to go, she still followed the man.

"Sora-san, an FBI agent is here to look at the body." He called into the room. Eli happened to arrive at an interesting time, as Sora had already begun performing an autopsy on the body.

"Well, you can let them in. It's their job to find who's doing this after all." She called back, still focusing on the corpse on a table in front of her. Sora's back was turned to her, but she probably already had a good idea of who the agent was. The man motioned Eli to go in and walked back to his desk in the other room. Eli approached the table where Sora was working and stood on the opposite side of the table, not wanting to get in her way.

"Find anything interesting?" Eli asked, watching as the girl examined the dead body.

"Oh... yes, actually. There's this weird tar-like substance in the knife incisions. I noticed it on the previous bodies as well, but wasn't entirely sure what it was then either..." She answered. She grabbed a small tool and buried it into the stab wound, pulling it out to show Eli a sample of the mysterious substance. Just like the previous bodies, the victim's injuries were coated with ectoplasm.

"Hmm... Do you have any clue of what it might be?" Eli asked, acting as if she had no clue what it was.

"Not yet, but I can have some tests ran on it and find out soon. The other bodies had it as well, so the murderer must be using it on their weapon..."

"Alright. Thanks for the info. I'll get out of your way now so you can continue your work." Eli began to walk towards the exit.

"It was no problem, Agent. You're welcome to stop by whenever you need to." Sora said from behind her. Eli walked back to the front room and left the morgue.

She sat down in her car and dug in her back pocket for her phone. She went into her contacts and found Umi, hitting the call button.

" _Done already?_ " Umi voice answered after a few rings.

"Yep. There wasn't much to it. I just needed to confirm it as our ghost." Eli replied, sitting back in the seat of her car.

" _I finished composing a list of the residents that have had recent family deaths, dating back at two years maximum. They're actually only a few of them, so if this is correct, we should find the ghost relatively quickly._ "

"Okay. I'll drive over there and pick you up so we can get started right away. Start getting ready."

" _See you soon."_ Eli placed her phone back in her pocket after Umi hung up. She placed her hands on the steering wheel, although the car wasn't started. What was she going to do if Nozomi was on that list? There was something about Nozomi that made Eli want to protect her even more so than the others. Eli closed her eyes and took a deep breath, exhaling a couple seconds later once she opened her eyes again. She placed her hands on the car key and turned it, starting the engine. Eli drove off before she let her thoughts take over.

* * *

Eli honked the horn of her car a couple times to gain Umi's attention. Within a couple of seconds, Umi came out, dressed up in her suit, a piece of paper in her hand. Umi made her way to the passengers side and slid into the seat besides Eli.

"Umi, here's what I found while I was out." Eli pulled out the paper she had folded and placed in her pocket. She unfolded the paper and showed Umi the image on it. "The camera just barely caught the ghost. It's a bit hard to make out the figure, but from what I see, it appears to be male."

"Then, this is what I found." Umi replied, handing the list to Eli. She quickly scanned the small list, looking for one name in particular, one that hopefully wouldn't be on that list. Eli froze when her eyes landed upon that dreaded name.

Tojo Nozomi.

"Eli... Is something wrong?" Eli handed the paper back to Umi. She shook her head.

"Everything's fine. Let's just go to the apartments and try to find this ghost before it hurts anyone else." Her voice was much more serious than she expected it to be. She was sure Umi was staring at her, confused by the reaction, but she was too busy trying to drive out of the parking lot and to the apartments to look at her.

The chances of Nozomi harboring the ghost unknowingly worried Eli. Eli didn't want her to die. She didn't want to lose that mischievous twinkle that appeared every so often in those captivating emerald eyes. The most recent murder, being out of the original radius Umi had found, provided information pointing straight towards her. The only thing that made Eli doubt that was the fact she was still unharmed and completely unaware of the ghost.

Besides the fact of Nozomi _potentially_ living with a malevolent ghost (though it was highly likely), Nozomi _did_ have a recent death in her family. She would understand to some degree how she felt the previous night when she let her true emotions loose. Eli didn't understand how she was able to stay so calm about it as well as comfort her. Along with that, Eli realized she was living completely alone, not having anyone to confide in when it came to things like that. Eli had Umi to talk to when she really needed it, but who did Nozomi have?

Eli blinked hard, focusing completely on the road once again. Nozomi has been consuming her thoughts lately, and Eli was aware of it.

"Isn't that person you were with last night at the apartments?" Umi asked.

"Yep."

"Are they on that list?" Umi asked once again. Eli frowned, not wanting to believe it.

"...Yep."

"Well, we need to figure out who's searching which rooms. I'll leave you to their room and I'll handle the other two." Eli was surprised by Umi's response. Umi sighed, most likely noticing the look on Eli's face. "Don't make me regret my choice."

"Thank you, Umi. I really appreciate it." Eli said, looking over at Umi to show her appreciation.

"It's no big deal. Just focus on the road so we don't crash, please."

"Right away, ma'am." Eli grinned.

After a couple more minutes, they finally reached the apartments. Eli drove into the parking lot and parked the car in an empty spot.

"I'll start checking the room of Tojo Nozomi then." Eli said as she unbuckled her seat belt. Umi did the same and stepped out of the car.

"Alright. Don't do anything stupid." Umi began walking towards the apartments, looking at the paper to find the room numbers. Eli stepped out of her car and shut the door. She looked up Nozomi's room door and began to walk towards it. She quickly stepped up the stairs and continued towards Nozomi's room.

Eli knocked on Nozomi's door and waited. The door was pulled open, Nozomi most likely knowing it was her from the eye hole.

"Hey, Nozomi." Eli greeted casually. She couldn't help but notice the slight pout on Nozomi's face.

"You left so early that I didn't get to say 'good morning' to you."

"Sorry, I had to leave because of my work." Eli partially lied. Sure, she was on a case, but she still didn't _have_ to leave. If she had stayed, she and Umi most likely would have missed the news, causing this search to be delayed. With any case, it would be best to finish them as quickly as possible to prevent more deaths. "And that's also why I'm here, Nozomi."

"I would've guessed since you're in that suit. Well, come inside if you need to." Nozomi stepped out of the way and pulled the door farther open for Eli to come in.

"Nozomi, there was another death yesterday." Eli told her as she walked into her apartment room. Nozomi closed the door behind her.

"Another one? Why are you telling me this?"

"It happened not far from where we went out last night. Umi, my partner, had set up a map showing the crimes and noticed they were happening within a certain radius of this apartment complex. Last night's death happened out side of that radius. Not too long ago, Umi gathered some information about the residents here to see who could be a possible match." Eli explained. She could see Nozomi come to an understanding of what she was saying.

"This may be hard to talk about, but can you tell me how your dad passed?" Eli knew the pains of this topic, so she tried to be as gentle as possible.

"He was walking home from his office late at night after working overtime. Not far from the office he was attacked... He was completely defenseless against the attackers, having weapons of their own. They stabbed him to death..."

"Stab wounds? It's just like how the victims died..." Eli thought aloud. "Were the people that killed your father caught?"

"The suspects were found dead in their motel room, both stabbed to death. We don't know who killed then though." Nozomi told her. Eli pieced the story together in her mind, immediately knowing what must of happened.

"Nozomi... I think it's your dad's ghost who's killing these people."

Nozomi stood silent, eyes lowered though Eli could see the conflict on her face. She didn't like seeing Nozomi like that. Eli stepped forward closer to Nozomi and embraced her.

"I honestly don't want to believe it myself." Eli murmured.

"I've always had a slight suspicion of this..." Nozomi said, voice slightly muffled from being buried in Eli's suit. Eli let go of Nozomi as she began to move away.

"People have been dying around me, all in the same way since maybe a month or so after his death. I also had the feeling of being constantly watched. When I moved here, I thought it all would change."

"If he's following you, you must have brought along something he's linked on. Ghosts tend to link onto items meaningful to them."

"Nothing here had any real meaning to him. I only brought a few photos and the necessities."

"Alright... Did he happen to be buried or cremated?" Eli asked.

"He was buried so couple hours away from here at Shibuya Cemetary. Why?"

"With restless spirits like him, salting and burning their bodies usually puts them to rest. It's possible he's just using something as a mode of transportation. Umi and I will head over there and take care of it." Eli said. She turned around and walked towards the door, ready to get Umi to head to the cemetery.

"When will you be back?" Nozomi asked from behind her.

"I'll try to get here as soon as possible. I plan on staying afterwards as well to make sure he's really gone, if that's alright with you." Eli responded, smiling as she looked back at Nozomi. She noticed a faint pink blush appear on Nozomi's face before she continued out the door. Her smile tends to have that effect on people. "See you later, Nozomi."

Eli shut the door behind her and began to look for Umi. It wasn't that hard to do since Umi had to investigate the rooms with their owners outside. Eli quickly hopped down the steps and into the open room door right besides them.

"Umi," Eli called to the girl diligently scanning a shelf with her EMF. "You can stop now. I know who the ghost is."

"So it was Tojo-san's father?" Umi turned off her EMF and placed it back inside her suit.

"Yep. He's buried not far from here too. We should hurry up and burn his body before something else happens."

"Sounds like a plan. Let's go." Umi began to walk out the door, Eli following behind her.

"Once again, thank you for your time and cooperation." Umi said to the room owner who was waiting patiently outside.

"It was no big deal. Good luck with your case." He walked back inside his room and shut the door. The two continued to walk to the car, taking their usual seats. Eli started up the car and quickly input their destination, Shibuya Cemetery, in the car's GPS. Once it loaded, she reversed out of the parking spot and onto the road towards the cemetery.

* * *

The two hours of driving went by quickly, the two being used to drives that could take up a whole day. The cemetery was located in the outskirts of the city, closer to the forested mountains that made up a majority of the surrounded area. Usually, digging up a grave would be a problem during the light of daytime, but with the isolation of the place, they had nothing to worry about.

Now out of the car and onto the concrete pavement of the small parking lot, the two walked to the trunk of the car to grab the shovels that were kept there. Eli pulled the trunk open, holding it for Umi to grab a shovel. She grabbed the other and slammed the trunk closed once again. She swung the shovel over her shoulder and rested it there, beginning to walk into the graveyard alongside Umi.

"Take the right side, I'll take the left. Call me if you find his grave." Eli ordered. They walked through the gates and onto the cobblestone pathway of the cemetery, splitting up to their planned sides.

Within a couple of minutes, Eli had found the desired person's grave.

"Hey, Umi! I found it, come over here!" She shouted to her partner. She took the shovel off her shoulder and drove it into the dirt, using her foot to force it even farther down. She shoveled the dirt to the side and began to repeat the process.

"Do you want to get the salt and other supplies now?" Eli asked, grunting as she forced the shovel into the ground once more.

"Yeah, I'll go get them. I'll be right back then." Umi replied. She pushed her shovel into the ground, standing it for easy grabbing once she returned. Eli continued to shovel out the dirt, Umi joining in as well soon after.

Eli continued to dig, forcing the shovel down once more when she was greeted was the familiar _clunk_ of the shovel head meeting the coffin. It took over an hour for the two of them to get a good sized hole where they could actually open the coffin. Umi lifted herself out of the hole so that Eli could open it and reveal the body.

Eli tossed her shovel on the ground above and cleared away the remaining dirt resting on the top of the coffin and maneuvered herself so she would be able to open the coffin. She lifted the lid, handing one side up to Umi to lift it out of the hole. Eli hopped out of the hole and looked at the corpse below her.

The body, being only a couple months old from how things looked, was gray and rotting, maggots crawling throughout holes they created in the skin. The sight was disgusting, most people not being able to look at something so grotesque without vomiting, but Eli and Umi were used to it. They had to look at bodies, some even more nauseating than this, on a daily basis.

Eli stared down at him. This was the father of Nozomi, a maggot infested corpse buried six feet under the surface. Eli bent over to pick up the salt, lighter fluid, and match box on the ground besides her. She handed the salt container to Umi and began to douse the body with the flammable liquid while Umi was dumping the salt onto him. Eli tossed the lighter fluid to the side and opened up the match box, grabbing a single match and striking in on the side. She flicked the lit match into the hole, the corpse bursting into flames with contact.

Eli placed a hand over her nose and took a step back. While she could get used the the sight of the corpses, the smell of rotten, burning flesh wasn't something she, or anyone for that matter, could handle. She glanced over at Umi, who had done the same thing, disgust apparent in her hardened, amber eyes.

They waited for the flames to completely consume the body and destroy as many bones as possible. They threw the lid back over whatever remained in the pit and began to shovel the dirt back over the hole.

Once the corpse was covered once again, the two picked up their supplies and headed back for their car.

"Hopefully that took care of him." Eli said to Umi.

"Yeah, let's hope. It would be a pain to have him angrier than he already is." Umi replied. They cleaned the majority of the dirt off their shovels before placing them back into the trunk with the salt and lighter fluid.

* * *

Eli stopped by their motel room to drop off Umi and to change out of her dirty suit into something more comfortable, before she drove back to Nozomi at the apartments. She knocked on the door, earning an immediate response and a girl jumping into her arms for a hug.

"Good, you're back." Came Nozomi's muffled voice.

"N-Nozomi?" Eli stuttered, flustered over the sudden, unexpected intimacy. She was used to people throwing themselves at her, but not _literally_ throwing themselves at her like this. "Is something wrong?" Eli realized how stupid the question was immediately after she asked it.

"It's a little bit eerie living alone, knowing your father's murderous ghost is hanging around you, ya'know?"

"It'll be fine now. We burned his body, so his ghost should be gone now. Plus, I won't let anything harm you on my watch." Eli wrapped her arms around Nozomi, holding her close. The two stayed like that for a couple minutes before Eli decided it was time to stop.

"Hey, Nozomi. We should head inside now. If we hold the door open any longer, bugs will come inside."

"O-Oh, you're right. Let's go inside then." Nozomi rushed, apparently flustered once she realized how long they've been standing there. Eli followed and closed the door behind her.

"Would you like something to drink?" Nozomi asked from inside the small kitchen area.

"Yeah, just water will be fine. Thanks." Eli replied. She walked over and leaned on the wall by the kitchen entrance, watching as Nozomi grabbed a glass of water for her.

"Here you go." Nozomi said, handing Eli the glass. Eli thanked her and took a sip of the cool water. It was much needed after an hour of digging under the hot sun.

"So, do you want to watch some television? We could find something interesting to put on." Nozomi asked, sitting down on her small couch.

"Yeah, that'd be great." Eli sat down on the couch besides Nozomi, setting her glass on the coffee table besides it.

"Is there anything in particular that you would want to watch?"

"I don't really get into a whole lot of TV shows since I'm constantly on the road or taking up a case. I'll be fine watching whatever you like to watch." Eli replied. She was curious to see what Nozomi liked to watch anyway.

"Hmm, alright. Well, there is this one drama that everyone's been watching. We might as well give it a shot." Nozomi said, finding the series so she could play the first episode.

The two sat on the couch, watching the episode without exchanging words. Soon enough, the episode was over.

"What did you think of it, Nozomi?" Eli asked, looking over at the woman. Instead of watching the show, Nozomi had fallen asleep. As if her words moved her, Nozomi's head came sliding down the couch and onto Eli's shoulder, which she didn't mind at all.

Nozomi was perfect to Eli, a goddess in her eyes. She knew what was she was beginning to feel and knew she couldn't allow it. She couldn't become close to her in fear of dragging her even farther into the whole monster mess. She couldn't do that to anyone, no matter how much she grew to care for them.

Eli watched as the girl slept peacefully on her shoulder. The whole situation could just wait until another time. Eli leaned her head against Nozomi's, shutting her own eyes as well. For now, she'll just enjoy the moment.


	4. Chapter 4

When Eli woke up, the living room was dark and there was a distinct scent of food cooking. Whatever it was, it smelt great. Eli sat up and stretched, a bit sore from sleeping on the couch and the work she did earlier on in the day, and looked around. Nozomi was standing at the stove in the kitchen, one of the few rooms with the lights on. Eli stood up off the couch and walked to the kitchen.

Already plated on the table were two servings of rice and okonomiyaki. It looked like Nozomi was putting some soup into bowls as well. Eli inhaled deeply, taking in the delicious scents of the food, also gaining Nozomi's attention while doing so.

"Oh, have a nice nap? I'm almost done plating dinner, so you can go ahead and sit down." Nozomi chimed. The grin on her face was infectious, causing Eli to smile herself.

"You must enjoy cooking." Eli commented, noticing how happy she appeared to be. She sat down in the chair closest to her. Nozomi set down the two bowls filled with soup on the table and sat in the chair opposite to Eli.

"It's not often that I'm able to cook for people I like." Nozomi replied. Eli felt a jab in her heart. She knew she had to end things with Nozomi before things went too far, but haven't they already?

Eli stopped thinking about it for a moment, not wanting to show her emotion on her face. It seemed like Nozomi was good at reading expressions and she didn't want her to worry, or at least not worry right now.

"Thank you for the meal." Eli said, picking the chopsticks off the table and digging into her food. Nozomi echoed her and did the same.

Tomorrow. Tomorrow Eli planned to end things with her. She didn't want to ruin Nozomi's current good mood.

`"Oh, this is delicious." Eli gasped, the food gaining her complete attention. She took another bite of the okonomiyaki, this time savoring the flavor completely.

"I'm glad you like it." Nozomi smiled before eating another bite herself.

The dinner was delicious, though Eli began to feel bad for Umi. Since Umi was at the motel, she couldn't eat such amazing meals unless she went out to eat or cooked something herself using the motel's kitchenette. Perhaps Eli would make it up to her by buying some manjuu, one of her favorite snacks.

Bringing herself back to the situation at hand, Eli assisted Nozomi with the dishes on the table, washing the ones that she used.

"Oh, you don't need to do that. You can just sit down, I can handle it." Nozomi called from behind her.

"It's alright. I'd rather help than just sit down and make you do the work." Eli replied, rinsing off her plate. "Do you want these in the dishwasher?"

"Yup. Thanks, Elicchi."

Eli moved to the dishwasher and put her dishes neatly inside, Nozomi taking her previous spot at the sink to wash her dishes.

"Would you mind if I take a shower? I did change clothes before I got here, but I still feel a bit disgusting after what I did today." Eli wasn't that much bothered by the body, but more so how she was digging and sweating in the hot sun. She personally liked to keep herself clean as much as possible, no matter how messy the business could get.

"Of course not, go right ahead! There should be a clean towel in there already that you can, use as well as my soaps." Nozomi answered. She finished putting the last dish in the dishwasher and closed it.

"Thanks. I'll finish quickly." Eli responded, walking off in the direction of the bathroom. She entered, this time closing the door behind her, and started the water. She stripped down and stepped inside, first making sure the water was the right temperature. She poured a small amount of Nozomi's body wash onto her palm, which had a slight floral scent to it, and scrubbed her body down. She knew it wouldn't be as effective as using a washcloth, but it works. She rinsed out her hair as well, wanting to keep it shiny and clean.

Once she was done, she turned off the water and strained her hair, grabbing the towel Nozomi had mentioned to help dry herself. She put on the clothes she had previously been wearing, a white thick-strapped tank top and a pair of jeans, and left the bathroom. Nozomi was sitting on the couch, apparently browsing through the channels once again.

"I'm finished with my shower now, so you can take one now if you want." Eli told her, sitting down on the couch besides her.

"Okay. I'll be back soon then. You can watch whatever." Nozomi replied, standing up to walk to the bathroom. Eli watched as she walked away before she turned her attention to the TV. She went to the news station just to be sure nothing had happened within the day. There were no new deaths connected to their case, as hoped, but it was still too early to be certain.

Satisfied with the information for now, she began searching for something else to watch. After a couple minutes of browsing through the channels with no prevail, Eli decided to just drop the whole TV idea and get some fresh air outside. She left through Nozomi's front door, leaving it open a crack so she could get back inside afterwards, and onto the veranda of the second floor. The air was cool, especially when she had just left the shower, but she preferred the cold. She leaned on the railing to stare out into the dark parking lot and the active city just past it.

There was something about night that Eli liked. Even in the busy city, night seemed to calm her down and give her a sense of peace that the day doesn't. She let out an airy chuckle as she remembered the time where she was absolutely terrified by the dark. It was before the situation with her family, when she didn't know of the creatures that lurked in the shadows. If anything, the whole thing would've made her even more scared of the dark, knowing man-eating monsters actually existed, but it did the exact opposite. It was that fear, sorrow, and anger from that moment that pushed her to overcome her initial fear of the dark. Even she took humor in the idea of the small girl petrified by the dark becoming a very skilled monster hunter.

"Elicchi, you're going to catch a cold if you're out here with wet hair."

Eli turned around at the sound of Nozomi's voice, her eyes meeting Nozomi's emerald ones. Nozomi walked besides Eli to lean on the railing next to her.

"You say that but aren't you out here too?"

"Touché, Elicchi. Anyways, what'cha doing out here? Aren't you cold?"

"I was just thinking a little bit, remembering some things." Eli answered still maintaining eye contact with Nozomi. There was something about the soft, caring look present in Nozomi's eyes whenever they spoke that made Eli just want to kiss her. It took every ounce of self-restraint for her not to in that moment. Eli needed to end things with Nozomi and she didn't want to make anything harder than it already was for herself or Nozomi. Eli looked back forward, not wanting to be completely absorbed in her eyes. "We should head back inside. It would be terrible if either of us got sick."

Eli turned around and walked back into the apartment. She sat down onto the couch with a sigh, closing her eyes as she did so.

"It's getting late and I have work tomorrow, so I'm going to sleep now. Where will you be sleeping?" Nozomi asked.

"I think I'll take the couch tonight." Eli answered.

"Oh," Eli could hear the slight disappointment in Nozomi's voice. "I'll get a blanket for you then."

"Thank you, Nozomi." Eli wanted nothing more than for her to be happy, but this was for the best. This was the downside of being a monster hunter: you had to distance yourself from everyone, no matter how strongly you care for them. If you really cared about them, you would let them go.

Eli easily ended things with girls previously. Nozomi was just another girl, wasn't she? Eli just liked her a bit more than the rest... actually, she liked her a lot more than the rest.

"Here ya go, Elicchi." Nozomi disrupted her thoughts, handing Eli a blanket. "Good night."

"You too. Good night, Nozomi."

Nozomi smiled weakly at Eli before she walked back off to her room. Eli stood up and turned off the lights of the living room before laying back down on the couch. After turning off the TV, Eli threw the blanket over herself and shut her eyes.

* * *

Eli woke up to the sound of movement around her, more specifically in the kitchen. She sat up with a yawn, noticing Nozomi cooking something in the kitchen. Eli stood up and stretched, regretting the decision to sleep on the couch a tiny bit.

"Good morning, Nozomi."

"Oh, did I wake you up? Sorry about that. I was just making some food before I head off to work."

"It's alright. I usually wake up this early anyway." Eli reassured her. "What do you do anyways?"

"I have the opening shift at a small shop not far from here. It's simple but really helps with my living situation." Nozomi answered as she put yesterday's rice, water, and some seasonings into a pot on the stove. Eli hummed at the response. She's never actually had a real, paying job, but she could still understand.

"When I'm gone, feel free to do whatever. I'll be back around noon if you plan on heading out."

"That's pretty laid back, isn't it?" Eli commented. She _has_ only known her for a couple days and now she's letting her roam freely in her house when she's gone?

"I trust you, so it's alright." Nozomi responded. She turned the stove off, still stirring the food inside the small pot. "The food's done now. Can you get two bowls for us? They're in the cabinet above the dishwasher."

Eli nodded, as if Nozomi could see when she was focused on the pot in front of her. Eli walked to the cabinet, grabbing some of the bowls inside.

"Here you go." Eli said, handing the bowls to Nozomi. Eli couldn't help but feel the lingering feeling of sadness...or perhaps loneliness, on the back of her mind when she spoke to Nozomi. She ignored it. She wouldn't have to deal with it past this afternoon.

"Thanks, Elicchi. You can sit down now. I'll eat a quick breakfast with you before heading to work." Nozomi looked back and smiled at her. This time it was Eli who smiled weakly back.

With a bowl in each hand, Nozomi made her way back to the table, setting them both down. Feeling uncomfortable with just watching Nozomi serve her food, she grabbed a spoon for both herself and Nozomi from the utensils drawer, remembering the location from the previous night.

"Ah, thanks Elicchi." Nozomi said, to which Eli hummed in response. Eli handed Nozomi a spoon and then sat down opposite to her.

The two ate in silence. Eli just didn't want _that_ feeling to intensify. She never really got attached to people, only needing her _'occasional'_ flings and Umi to keep her from being lonely. It was a rare occasion to actually feel this way about someone, an emotion she was unfamiliar with. She wasn't that good at handling a lot of her emotions in the first place, let alone one she barely dealt with.

"Alright, I'm heading out now. See ya soon, Elicchi." Nozomi called out, rinsing her dishes and placing them in the dishwasher.

"Mm. Bye, Nozomi." Eli dropped her gaze to her bowl, not wanting to see her face after her somewhat cold reply. She hated the way she felt. She hated how she had to do this to Nozomi, but this was her choice. She chose to sacrifice her love over the safety of the people in Japan.

Eli's eyes widened, realizing what she had just thought to herself. Sure, she knew she had begun to like Nozomi, but for the first time, she had actually said that it was love.

"Umi will definitely be upset with me." Eli chuckled dryly to herself.

At this point, Nozomi had already left for work, leaving Eli alone at her apartment. She finished the food Nozomi had cooked in one final bite before rinsing her dishes and placing them besides Nozomi's in the dishwasher. With her dishes now cleaned up, Eli went back to her previous spur of the couch. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone to check if Umi had sent her a message. Nothing. Eli put the phone back in her pocket and turned on the TV. Since Umi didn't text her, she assumed nothing happened within the night. It still wouldn't hurt if she checked for herself though.

As expected, there were no new deaths relating to their case. Eli sighed. It was going to be a long couple hours.

* * *

Eli knew Nozomi had come back when she heard the doorknob start to jiggle. Eli knew what she had to do, as she was preparing herself for it the whole day. It was now or never, Eli much rather wanting to do it never. Eli got up from the couch, where she had been reading a book she had found, and began to walk towards the door.

"I'm home!" Nozomi called out. "Oh, were you going to greet me at the doorway?" She added jokingly.

"Actually, I need to talk to you." Eli said back, not reflecting Nozomi's energy.

"What's wrong?" Nozomi asked, eyebrows furrowed with worry.

"I'm sorry, but I can't do this. Starting today, our conversation will be minimal to none." Eli paused, giving some time for Nozomi to comprehend the information before continuing. "There seems to be no dangers of you staying here alone, so I won't be staying another night. Once Umi and I are certain this ghost has been taken care of, we'll be heading on as well. Thank you for your hospitality."

Silence followed. Eli didn't dare to look at Nozomi, so she couldn't tell what she was thinking. Finally, Eli started for the door. She kept her eyes to the ground to avoid looking at her. She didn't know if her heart would be able to handle it. She slipped on her shoes and reached out for the door.

"Why?" Nozomi asked faintly. "I want to know why before you leave." Eli dropped her hand back to her side.

"In this business, loving someone is a weakness that is often exploited by monsters and sometimes even other hunters alike. This is for your safety."

Following those words, Eli opened the door and walked out, not giving time for a response. She _really_ hoped Nozomi wouldn't follow her. She needed to get the hell out of there before things get even harder to deal with. Eli could feel her eyes begin to sting as she jogged down the steps, but she refused to let any tears fall over this matter.

Without so much as a glance back, Eli returned to her car. She dropped into the drivers seat, closing her eyes tight to push back any tears that had decided to start to form. She was tempted to see if Nozomi had begun to follow her, but decided it was for the best if she just left. She pulled out of the parking space and began to drive away, back towards the motel she and Umi were staying at.

Throughout the drive, Eli couldn't stop thinking about Nozomi. While she didn't see her face, her imagination could perfectly piece together what her expression was when she left. Her heart ached at that expression, the way she sounded hurt. Eli turned the radio on and blasted the volume, hoping the loud music would block out her own personal thoughts.

Accompanied with focusing her attention completely on the road, Eli managed to get back to the motel without her thoughts suffocating her. Although she wasn't thinking about it, her heart still ached from the situation, a lingering ache that refused to disappear. She turned the music back down to the normal level before stopping the car completely. She grabbed the keys and hopped out, it locking with a beep. She walked to her room, where Umi was currently at most likely searching for another case.

Eli wondered how Umi would react when she entered. She knew that she looked terrible and that Umi would pick up on it immediately. If she did explain the full truth of what happened, and what was happening, what would Umi do? At this point, Eli could imagine the irritated look on Umi's face, the one that would even send the worst monsters shivers down their spines. Knowing there was no way around it, Eli entered the room.

"Welcome back, Eli." Umi greeted from her bed, where she was previously looking at her laptop. Just as Eli predicted, Umi's expression changed upon seeing how she looked. "What happened to you?"

Eli sighed. This is really something she couldn't get around. Hiding things from each other was something they just didn't do, seeing they were going to be by each other's sides for as long as they live, which they knew might not actually be a long time. Keeping secrets from each other just caused problems later on. She didn't want to hide something as ridiculous as this either, there's just no point in doing so.

"Umi," Eli began, walking over to the side of her bed before sitting on it. "I'm really stupid."

Eli could feel Umi's eyes locked on her. She kept her gaze downwards. "I think I might love her."

The atmosphere in the room noticeably dropped. She was used to this though, so she continued before Umi could say anything. "She's beautiful and cute, kind, caring, and just overall perfect." Eli knew that her heart's pace was faster than usual. "Everything about her makes me feel a bit happier than I am when I'm not around her. But I knew, for her own safety, that we couldn't be together; that I had to end it before we fell in too deep and couldn't, so that's what I did."

At this point she could feel a tear run down her cheek. She quickly wiped it away, trying her best to regain her composure once again. She heard the rustling of the bed sheets as Umi moved closer.

"Eli," Umi's voice was stern, which was not surprising. "You did what you had to. I can't get angry at you for this, seeing it's natural for humans to feel this way."

Eli looked up at Umi, who was sitting on the edge of the bed looking back at her, her gaze softer than her stern voice. More tears streamed down Eli's face, tears she didn't bother to hold in anymore; she was comfortable enough around Umi to show her weak side.

"Eli... This is a first I've actually seen you like this... You must actually really like her." Umi got up from her bed and sat besides Eli, patting her back soothingly in an attempt to calm her down. "If our situation were different, I would want you to go back to her, but since we're stuck like this, you just have to know you did what was best for her and her safety."

Eli cleared the tears from her cheeks. "...Isn't alright to make one exception?"

Before Umi could reply, Eli felt a buzz in her sweater pocket. Quickly, she reached into it and pulled out her phone.

"It's her..." Eli stared at the notification before opening the message.

 _'Elicchi, you didn't have to leave. While my time with you may have been short, it felt like I've known you forever and it's been some of my happiest memories. When it comes to spending time and being together with you, my safety doesn't matter. I would be content with just being able to spend the time I did have with you. You don't have to force yourself to live such a lonely life either, you should do what you really want to. I don't care what happens to me if we are both happy and have no regrets. I love you, Elicchi.'_

She felt her heart lurch after quickly reading the message in its entirety. She _really_ wanted to drive back over and embrace Nozomi. This aching feeling that constantly tugged at her heart was almost unbearable. She didn't know how long she could withstand this relatively unfamiliar, but recently more frequent, feeling.

Umi sighed. "I know this will be something I will regret in the future, and don't have anything but bad feelings coming from it, but go. I don't like seeing you like this."

Eli quickly turned back around, looking at Umi in disbelief.

"Really?"

"Just hurry up and go before I change my mind." Umi replied. Eli didn't need to be told that twice. "Jeez, with you acting this way, one would think I'm the older one."

Eli, now at the door, wiped her face once more and turned around at Umi, smiling. "Thank you, Umi."

Eli jogged outside and into her car. She couldn't wait to be back at Nozomi's apartment, with Nozomi in her arms. She sped out of the parking lot, her tires screeching on the asphalt of the road, and into the road.

The ride to Nozomi's was quick, partly because she couldn't stand not talking to her after what happened. She slowed as she reached the parking lot, looking at first at the closed door of her apartment before looking back at the road and parking.

Eli inspected herself using the rear-view mirror. She knew she looked like shit, but wanted to see to what degree. After making herself somewhat more presentable, she got out of her car and started for Nozomi's room.

She walked up to Nozomi's door and knocked. The door flung open in a matter of seconds and Nozomi practically jumped into Eli.

"Nozomi..." Eli murmured as she embraced her. She rested her head on Nozomi's. "I'm sorry for leaving."

Nozomi was quiet as she stayed buried in Eli's chest.

"Hey, are you alright?" Eli asked, a bit worried at first. Nozomi finally released herself from Eli, tears now formed in her eyes.

"Mhm, I'm just really happy you're back now." She said with a smile, her tears beginning to fall.

"I am too. I'm sorry for leaving you in the first place." Eli said, wiping the tears away with her thumbs before resting her forehead against Nozomi's. She really, truly loved her and wanted Nozomi to see it. Eli planted a kiss on Nozomi's lips, one absent of lust and only of love. She took a step back and took Nozomi's hand in hers. "Do you want to go inside now?"

"Yeah. That would be nice." Nozomi said with a smile, weaving her fingers between Eli's. Eli began to walk behind her, shutting the door behind her as she entered.

"Do you want to just relax and watch some movies for a bit? I'm sure you don't get a whole lot of relaxation time with what you do." Nozomi suggested. Eli hummed and nodded, now taking the lead and bringing Nozomi to the couch with her. She let go of Nozomi's hand and laid down on the couch, patting the couch besides her as a signal for Nozomi to lay down there.

Nozomi understood and laid down besides her. The couch wasn't all that big, but that just meant they were closer, which Eli had no problems with.

"There's a few things I have to say first, though." Eli said softly to avoid raising panic. "This is the first time I've been in an actual relationship because of what I do. I don't want to scare you, but there's no way of knowing what can happen, but I will make sure _nothing_ harms you, I promise you that. I'm also unsure of what will happen when the time comes for us to follow up on another case, but we can deal with that when the time comes."

With their current position, Eli couldn't see Nozomi's face, so she hoped she didn't ruin the previously good mood.

"You don't need to worry about it, Elicchi. For now, let's just relax and enjoy each other's company now that we're able to have it." Nozomi replied. She snuggled closer into Eli, who wrapped her arms around her, pulling her closer as well.

At this moment, Eli found herself the happiest she has been in a while. She was able to snuggle up with the girl she loved and relax from her normal, stressful daily tasks. She loved that she was able to do this, but there was a lingering feeling from years of being a hunter that this would not end good; hardly anything like this ever did. She ignored it though, looking instead at the TV and enjoying the warmth coming from the body so close to hers.

"By the way, Nozomi, do you happen to recall the first night I stayed here?" Eli asked. Nozomi chucked a bit at the question.

"Something like that is hard to forget after only a couple days." Nozomi joked. This caused Eli to laugh a bit.

"Well, other than _that_ do you remember when you brought me some clothes and a towel?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"Well, I was wondering if you entered the room before you left the clothes. I thought I heard someone come in." Eli explained.

"Hm, I don't think I did." Nozomi replied, recalling that night to the best of her ability. "Do you think it was the ghost? I'm also pretty sure that I left the room lights on, so unless you turned them off when you woke up, maybe the ghost bad something to do with that as well."

"The lights were off when I woke up, so it's very possible it was the ghost. There's nothing to worry about now though, it's been taken care of." Eli replied.

"Thank you for that, by the way. It's a bit hard to think that my passed father would be the cause of so many deaths. I'm glad he's finally able to be at rest." Nozomi said. Eli hummed in response.

She felt a sudden buzz in her pocket, most likely a text from Umi.

"Ah, one second. I should probably look at this." Eli said. She reached into her pocket, trying her best to move in a way that wouldn't make Nozomi, who was still laying against her, uncomfortable. As she thought, the text was from Umi. She opened the message and quickly read it to herself.

"Oh, Umi wants to meet you." Eli said in surprise.

"Isn't that your partner? I would love to meet her!" Nozomi said as she turned herself to face Eli, even with the little room they had on the couch.

"Alright, I'll tell her that. Would you like to meet up with her elsewhere or here?"

"Right here is fine! Your friends will always be welcome in my home." Nozomi replied. She sat up from her spot, which Eli followed. She sent the message to Umi telling her what Nozomi had said. Seconds later, there was a response.

"Alright, she'll be over soon. She's taking a bus here." Eli told Nozomi, putting her phone back in her pocket. "I'm not entirely sure how she's going to react once she gets here, though... This is honestly the first time we've allowed something like this to happen, which we were against before."

"We'll be fine. I'm sure of it." Nozomi replied with a confident smile. With Nozomi smiling, Eli couldn't help but smile herself.

"Mm. Either way, I don't think I could leave you like that again." Eli said. She could still feel that terrible pain lingering inside of her. She felt Nozomi's arms wrap around her.

"And there will be no need to." She answered back, following with a brief kiss to her cheek. She stood up and turned around to face Eli. "I'm going to clean up the place a bit. Wanna help?"

Eli stood up as well. "Of course."

* * *

A knock on the door signaled Umi was there.

"That's probably her." Eli said, placing a book back onto its shelf.

"Alright, I'll invite her in." Nozomi called out from the kitchen. Eli turned around and watched as she went to answer the door. She unlocked the door and pulled it open.

"Hi! Umi-chan was it? Welcome!" Nozomi greeted.

"Hello." Came the stiff reply. With that voice and response, Eli knew it was her. She watched as Umi walked into the room, looking around and then making eye contact with her.

"Hey, Umi." Eli said. Umi began to walk forward into the living room.

"Go ahead and make yourself at home, Umi-chan." Nozomi said to her, walking besides her and to Eli. Umi sat down on the couch, though not relaxed.

"I'm assuming you're the one Eli has been talking about?" Umi asked, almost as if it were an interrogation. Nozomi didn't seem to be phased by this.

"Jeez, Umi... You're acting like an overprotective dad..." Eli murmured.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I never actually introduced myself. I'm Nozomi Tojo. You can just call me Nozomi, though." Nozomi told her, not at all minding her behavior. She took Eli's hand and leaned her head on Eli's shoulder. "And I would like to think that I'm the one Eli has been talking about."

At the contact, Umi averted her eyes, her face a bit red. "A-Alright."

Eli saw that Nozomi seemed to notice this. With Nozomi's personality and Umi's sensitivity to anything in the slight bit 'shameless,' she knew this probably wouldn't go too well.

"Eli told me that you don't let things like this happen, but I really, truly love her." Nozomi added. She gazed at Eli and began to slowly lean in. Eli looked into Nozomi's eyes as well, captured by their beauty.

A loud rustling and the sound of Umi clearing her throat brought her back to reality. Eli looked over at Umi, who was standing up, face bright red with eyes averted from them. Nozomi began giggling at the reaction

"Sorry, sorry. I had to do something to loosen you up a bit. You were just so serious." Nozomi laughed. Eli herself was a bit disappointed Nozomi stopped at the last second, and apparently it showed in her face.

"Don't worry, little miss Elichika. I'll make up for it later." Nozomi teased. Eli's face went pink when she realized she had noticed. Umi let out a sigh and sat back down, her face returning to its normal color.

"Alright, my apologies. I'm just not used this. It was difficult for me to even let Eli come back." Umi explained. "Since this is happening though, we need to talk about a few things."

"Yeah. I'm personally still unsure of what exactly we're going to do." Eli added on.

"Since our jobs require constant traveling, Eli might not be around here all the time. However, the problem with that is that we can't protect you if anything decides to target you." Umi told Nozomi. "More than likely, we will just teach you a few things before we leave and visit every now and then."

Eli's heart dropped as she remembered she couldn't be with Nozomi a majority of the time, and in that time, there was no was of guaranteeing that she was safe.

"I'm fine with that. It sucks that I can't be with her more often, but you guys are out there saving lives, so I can bear with it." Nozomi replied.

"Eli's also a pretty good hunter herself, so you definitely will learn how to protect yourself when we're gone. She definitely will not let anything touch you under her watch."

"Sounds great! Now, since you're here, do you maybe want to stay for dinner?" Nozomi offered to Umi.

"Oh, that's not necessary." Umi replied, shaking her head.

"Umi, she's a pretty good cook. Plus, you probably haven't eaten anything really good since we got here." Eli said, trying to persuade Umi.

"I don't mind another person either. It's fun to cook for others." Nozomi added. Umi closed her eyes in thought before saying anything.

"Alright. Thank you Nozomi-san."

"It's no problem! Anyways, just call me 'Nozomi.' There's no need for formalities." Eli smiled at the two. It didn't seem like Umi disliked her that much. Nozomi let go of Eli's arm and began to walk to the kitchen. "I'll begin cooking now."

"Alright. I'll come to help in a bit." Eli said, sitting next to Umi on the couch.

"Okay. Thanks, Elichi. Go ahead and take your time."

Once Nozomi disappeared into the kitchen, Umi began to talk.

"She seems nice." Umi said in some voice loud enough for Eli to hear, but quiet enough that Nozomi couldn't hear her from the room besides them. Eli responded with some small nod. "I honestly think she compliments you. I haven't really seen this side in you, and it's good that you're able to show it. Don't be going so soft though, we still have a job to do." Umi finished with some chuckle.

"Of course not." Eli laughed back, standing up from her seat. "I'm going to help Nozomi with dinner now."


End file.
